A Destiny Entwined
by Aim-64C
Summary: Destiny merely sets the destination, the journey is what we live for. This is aimed to make the lore underlying Naruto's structure a bit more evident in the plot while doing a bit of restructuring here and there. Will completely restructure the war arc and conclusion. Naru-Hina.
1. 01: Koi

So, after much internal debate, I have decided to 'reboot' "Dynamics Of A Future." This is that reboot. Numerous factors played into this, not the least of which has been my feeling that I have done the story a disservice in the past with a fragmented presentation and a lack of elemental focus. Basically, I was trying to do too much without doing anything.

I'll spare the updates about my life - you're not here for a biography (much as my ego wants to believe so). This is going to be a Naruto and Hinata pairing with a huge focus on the Hyuuga. I have been developing my 'theory' on the Hyuuga role and standing within the Naruto Universe for quite some time, and I'd like to delve into the portions of Naruto that are typically not explored. The Hyuuga are typically depicted as relatively shallow, rigid, and static.

My goal is to work with the canon to create a more dynamic stage for a restructuring of the War Arc - but we will see how that plays out.

That said, on with the story:

* * *

A Destiny Entwined

Chapter One: Koi

A set of stern, pale orbs met his own. "How do you expect to go anywhere in life when you fight like a rampaging boar?"

His stance hardened. "This... This... _Man_" the thought curdled his brain.

"A man who fights against his destiny is a man who swims against the stream, Hiashi." The older Hyuuga slid under Hiashi's stance, delivering a swift blow to the younger Hyuuga.

Air was forced from Hiashi's lungs as he stumbled backwards. In their battle, he had wandered closer to the pond than he had felt wise, and his suspicions were rewarded. His foot collided with the decorative granite and his inertia carried him, backwards, into the pond.

"Hiashi," the older Hyuuga's voice could be heard through the splash of water, "Strength comes in many forms, as does weakness."

Hiashi's lips curled. "Are you implying that I am weak?" He nearly laughed at the older man's silence. "Weak for rejecting the sealing ritual? For insisting that my twin brother, who is as much me as any person can claim, should not be sealed!? I have the same eyes as you, old man. I can see our destiny as clearly as you can!"

The older Hyuuga sighed, "Simply because a man accepts his destiny does not mean he is unable to choose his fate."

"A father who would betray his son has no right to lead the Hyuuga!" Hiashi screamed.

"Nothing is done, Hiashi." His father's words echoed into memory as he strode away. "But nothing is left undone."

Hiashi cursed such mindless rhetoric as he thrashed to a stand. It was the same drivel the old men always used as an excuse to do nothing. He would not sit by for his brother to be taken as a lower class servant.

A gentle brush on his leg startled him from his brooding. A Koi, pale silver splotched with vivid orange, shimmered past. "Such wisdom." Hiashi said to himself. "That a lowly fish contradicts it." He took a moment to straighten his hair and expression before exiting the pond.

He stopped, frowning for a moment as his water-laden garb. A cloud of mist soon exploded away from the young Hyuuga, his chakra blasting the offensive liquid into vapor. "I have seen it. The Hyuuga are destined to change with me. Hizashi is to die in service to his own beliefs. I just need more power..."

* * *

The girl across from her sleeked a lock of hair away, revealing familiar pale orbs. Their depths painted an interesting expression of eagerness and regret. Hinata wiggled slightly, her muscles tingling with anxiety. Her father's eyes loomed like a hawk in the back of her mind.

Her thoughts drifted to an old memory.

Hinata fumbled in her new pajamas. They were a warm, fuzzy material that she liked, but a bit too long to walk in. The bunny ears would also droop in her face, and she was always leaving the carrot behind, somewhere. She padded slowly down the hard, wooden floors; mother would surely be able to help her get to sleep.

"Hiashi, don't you think you are over-reacting? She's only three years old." Her mother's voice echoed around the corner.

"And the elders will be screaming to have Hanabi's sealing ceremony marked on the calendar before the month is over." Her father sounded upset.

"So, let them scream. Hanabi and Hinata need their father, now. _I_ need you, now. Some bridges are meant to be crossed when you come to them." Her mother said, softly.

Hinata padded a little closer to the corner. Some instinct in her told her not to go fully around.

"I was too young, back then, to keep Hizashi from being branded, and now his son is condemned to the same fate!" Her father edged his voice.

"And why must it always be your place, your responsibility, to stop the madness of the elders?"

"Because it is-"

"Your destiny? What about your place; as a father?" Her mother sounded upset, now.

"But you see it, don't you?" Her father asked as if he needed something.

Her mother sighed. "Yes, Hiashi. I see that the Hyuuga are to change, and I've seen Hinata's destiny, as well." There was a moment where her father should have spoken. "But," Her mother edged. "Nothing is done, and nothing is left undone."

"You know how much I hate that phrase." Her father sounded defeated.

"Such is your nature." Her mother's voice was reassuring. "For now, at least."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Teach Hinata well. The fate of far more than the Hyuuga depends on it." Her mother said.

Hinata would return to her bed, still unable to sleep. It didn't seem to be a good time to interrupt. Her father had taught her not to interrupt. She would learn from her father, her mother made it sound important to do so. A part of her would always long for the moment, the last time she heard her mother's voice.

The years would come, and Hinata would learn. It came time for Hanabi to learn, as well. For reasons Hinata was never quite able to understand, she was supposed to be a fighter without human parallel. At least, that seemed to be her father's expectation. When Hanabi showed just how adept she was at learning the combat techniques of the Hyuuga, it was inevitable that Hinata would have to square off against her younger sister to see if theory held to practice.

The way the fight was going would seem to indicate Hanabi's theory was superior to Hinata's practice.

Hanabi angled into Hinata's stance, making a wide sweep with one hand while jabbing sharply with the other. Hinata shifted her stance, turning a duck into a lateral roll. She cursed her clumbsy recovery to her feet as Hanabi caught her flat-footed.

Hinata yelped as her sister's chakra exploded into her body just below her right collar bone. The younger girl's strikes were still imprecise, but she made up for it with her name's sake. Hinata slunk her shoulder away, pivoting to deliver a strong open-palmed strike to Hanabi's solar plex with her left hand.

The younger girl sprang backwards, visibly strugling with her temporary inability to breathe. Hinata took the opportunity, charging rapidly toward her sister. Hanabi had recovered more quickly than expected, rotating rapidly to deliver a hard blow to the girl's abdomen.

Hinata ricocheted to the ground with a yelp. The hit from Hanabi hurt, but her heart sank into the depths of her soul when she saw her father look down, shake his head, and leave the room. Hinata laid there for a moment if indefinite time before she slowly climbed to her feet.

"Hinata?" Hanabi called, worry in her voice.

Hinata turned toward the door. She didn't know where she was going, and she didn't care. Perhaps part of her felt like she was supposed to walk through that door. It really didn't matter, at this point.

"Hinata!" Hanabi called, again as Hinata crossed the threshold. "Sis!" Hinata was already sprinting down the path out of the compound. Tears streamed, unbeckoned, from her cheeks as the ache in her heart drove the pounding of her feet. Hinata didn't understand or care for the talk of destiny... A child's nature is to seek the approval of her parent. The young Hyuuga knew what her father expected, and it was not what happened back there.

At some point, she had crossed into the park maintained by the village. Her vision still clouded by tears, Hinata collided squarely with a stocky teenager, an ice-cream cone landing with a splosh on the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you are going!" The older boy jeered.

"I'm sorry..." Hinata squeaked.

"Hey! Look at her eyes! I bet she's related to that prick, Neji!" Hinata had recovered to see that there were three teenage boys in front of her. Apparently they were not fans of her cousin.

"I'm -" Hinata started.

"I bet she's got a broom just as far up her ass as he does!" The third boy suggested.

"Is that so? Do you think you're better than us?" The stocky boy leered at her.

"N-No... I didn't mean to, I swear." Hinata's voice wavered.

A stiff hand landed on her head and forced her to her knees. "Beg!" The stocky kid commanded.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." She began begging, tears forming in her eyes. She could see her father's lowered gaze; his disappointment if he were to see her, now.

"Hey, Knock it off." A new voice cut through her sobs.

"Oh, look, it's the ass clown." Hinata heard one of the boys as she looked up.

"Oh? Keep talking," the blonde menace smiled "What did you say your name was, again, Lord Lard? I'll ban your whole jelly bellied family from the village once I'm Hokage!"

Hinata, for her part, wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. She'd seen the blonde, before. He was always alone, and she was always dissuaded from so much as acknowledging the presence of the boy. The villagers seemed to curse his very existence for reasons Hinata was never told of. The Hyuuga elders didn't seem to be as harsh, but they liked to think themselves above gossip.

The kids laughed. "Yeah, right. You'll become Hokage when trees threaten to destroy the world!" One boy mocked. For her part, Hinata saw a small spark of irony.

"I guess I will start by turning your fat ass into fertilizer!" The blonde bellowed, forming a hand sign for ninjutsu.

The teenagers tensed. Hinata guessed it was something to do with the idea of the 'demon brat' using techniques as powerful as ninjutsu. As the young boy charged his chakra, however, the young Hyuuga felt it.

It wasn't proper to say she saw it, she didn't have her Byakugan activated. It wasn't proper to say she felt it, as she wasn't gifted with the sensory arts. But an essence of the boy stood out in a way only meaningful to a Hyuuga. Laid before her was Naruto Uzumaki's destiny.

It was a concept both familiar and alien to human cognition. To see something so deeply ingrained into the universe but so maleable by choice; Hinata could never hope to put it into words. It was clear to her, though: This "Demon Brat" would hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

"Clone Jutsu!" The blonde shouted.

The older boys began to turn to flee just before the smoke cleared. They didn't turn far before a pair of hideously formed clones wobbled, their entire existence wrinkled and flushed pale. A chorus of laughter erupted in response.

"Ha! I distracted you!" The demon brat lunged at the stocky kid, knocking him to the ground with a punch.

Hinata stood, getting ready to move to her blonde samurai's aid. "Lady Hinata!" The familiar voice of her personal guard, Ko, broke through. Hinata felt a hand land on her shoulder. "Come, Lady Hinata. You are needed back at the compound."

"But..." She protested.

"Pay it no mind. We need to go, now." Ko instructed, pulling her away.

Hinata looked back to see the boys had turned the tables on the blonde, beating him mercilessly into the ground. In that moment, she felt she understood. _He's... Like me..._

* * *

Hinata stood outside her father's office, studying the grains in the floor. Hiashi was willing to bet his daughter could map the compound by the floorboards. "You realize, Lord Hyuuga, that Lady Hinata has been recognized as a Ninja of the Leaf. She is eligible to go on missions, now." Kurenai Yuhi addressed him.

"I am well aware of that, Miss Yuhi. Though I appreciate your concern for the standards of appointment to Head Hyuuga status." No one ever laughed at his jokes, much to Hiashi's dismay.

"As her sensei," Kurenai rebounded without pause, "I am concerned about her safety and what that means to the Hyuuga-"

So, here it was. "As her sensei," Hiashi interrupted. "It is your responsibility to teach her. She can die a hideous death at the hands of foreign enemies, if that is to be her fate, but I will no longer require her for Hyuuga training."

Hiashi could practically feel his daughter's heart clench. Kurenai couldn't hide the daggers in her eyes. "Very well." She composed herself. "I will undertake Hinata's training from here on out." The young woman pivoted smartly and exited the room with all the edge of a razor blade.

"Come with me, Hinata." Kurenai's voice tried to soothe his daughter.

Hiashi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. The only words of comfort for him came from the past: "Nothing is done, and nothing is left undone." He fought a tremor in his facade as he slid shut and latched the door.

Age had humbled the destined man. The power he sought took away his wife, Hizashi died a free man while fulfilling his destiny, and it soon became clear that the destiny he saw for his daughter held him as a background factor. He'd once railed against the elder's for their constant use of paradoxes and lack of action. Now, he was beginning to understand.

Or, he really hoped he was starting to understand. Hinata was not... There wasn't really a verb or subject to that phrase; Hinata simply was not. Not for lack of trying, bless her heart, but Hiashi soon began to see that Hinata's destiny lay beyond the Hyuuga. There was something more he saw, something he couldn't quite peg - but he knew that he was not the one to inspire Hinata. Her destiny, for the time, required she believed she was failing.

Hiashi noticed his vision had blurred and drops patting gently against his folded hands. The words echoed through his mind: "Nothing is done, and nothing is left undone." It didn't stop the tears. It was a father's nature to cry when his child is suffering.

* * *

Her cousin's words burned at her very soul. "You know you can not win this fight. Your father has taken up training your younger sister because he no longer believes in you." He paused with a slight chuckle. "You don't even believe in yourself. Your stance has lost all composure, you've become completely withdrawn. Your very existence is an insult to the legacy of the Head Branch."

Hinata couldn't help but agree with his words. She wanted, longed for them to be false... But she wasn't even a challenge for Hanabi in sparing matches, anymore. A cold, calculating prodigy like Neji would bat her aside at the word "Go."

"Seriously!?" A voice increasingly familiar to Hinata rang out. She turned to look at the blonde. "Who the hell does this pompous douche think he is? Kick his ass, Hinata!"

_He's... Like me..._ The memory slammed into her mind. In that moment, Hinata understood. _Nothing is done._

Hinata found her stance and activated her Byakugan. "Cousin Neji, we fight."

* * *

Hinata stared into her cousin's eyes, saddened by the pain and anger she saw within them. She coughed, blood coating her lips, before collapsing to the ground. There was a considerable amount of commotion As she felt her body being shifted and picked up. At the edge of her hearing, Naruto's voice broke into what little remained of her consciousness.

"I swear..." The voice betrayed a marginally constrained demon. "I swear that I will beat your ass to kingdom come!"

_Nothing is left undone._

* * *

A hot gust of wind blew through the Hyuuga's garmets as the sun beat down on the parched dirt. "You honestly think you can become Hokage?" Neji choked back a laugh. "The Hokage is not something you become, it is something born into destiny."

The mark's on the blonde's face, that could only be described as whiskers, seemed to become more prominent. "I will show you!"

Neji couldn't help but laugh. "Show me what? Your chakra points have been closed. This fight is over, just as it was destined to be." He smirked. "I could see it from the moment I met you. You and Hinata share the same destiny. You are both weak before the likes of myself."

It had been certain in the older Hyuuga's mind. Granted, it did surprise him that Hinata had decided to fight - but one can not change their destiny. Hinata, despite the effort, lost. Neji saw it the moment the blabbering blonde gave encouragement to his cousin; the two did share the same destiny. Proof of that stood before that assessment right now; the blonde was left with harsh language and not an ounce off useable chakra.

Or so it should have been. The blonde seemed to reflect on something... Perhaps a few things, and the result was anything but what Neji thought would happen. A foul, truly monstrous chakra swirled inside the boy as his features seemed to transform into a truly ferral appearance. For a moment, Neji could perceive the depths of the chakra at work, and the mass of it left him paralyzed with incomprehension.

He didn't have time to begin appreciating the implications before he was forced on the defensive. Why did fulfilling destiny always require so much damned work?

* * *

Hiashi tried to keep his expression softer than was typical. Neji stood across from him, the gentle gurgling of the Koi pond in the background. "Uncle," He started, obviously uncomfortable. "I held you and the Main Branch in contempt that was undeserved. I give my deepest apologies and am deeply ashamed for my behavior." He ended his statement in a formal bow.

"Neji," Hiashi's voice carried an unfamiliar warmth "I can not be upset with you for acting according to your nature." The younger Hyuuga's face contorted, briefly, in confusion. Hiashi's response was obviously not of the expected variety. "Little was done, by myself or others, to teach you of your father, my brother, and of his life." He paused, allowing the statement to sink in a bit. "You are, indeed, a prodigy with fighting prowess that will soon rival any in Hyuuga history. It is only natural for you to seek to end injustice, as I once did."

The younger Hyuuga's expression betrayed curiosity. "Uncle, you...?"

"You are not the first to fight against the Seal. From what I have seen, you will not be the last, either." Hiashi admitted. "Destiny," he started with a sigh "is not a static property to be observed. It is dynamic and in many respects truly alien. It is always shifting and changing with time but its course is always consistent."

"I ... I think I understand." Neji admited. "So, Lady Hinata..."

Hiashi took advantage of the pause. "Yes, I saw it, too. She and the Uzumaki boy both share the same destiny. Understand that destiny is never to be taken for granted. There are many ways to fulfil a destiny, especially those that are shared destinies."

The younger Hyuuga seemed to be lost in contemplation.

"I think you will figure it out before I did." Hiashi said, reassuringly. "With that said, I would be honored if you would allow me to instruct you in the arts of the Head Branch."

"Uncle?" Neji inquired.

"Just because destiny can be unexpected does not mean it should not be prepared for. You are still destined to be at your cousin's side in battle. That she shares a destiny with the guardian of the Kyuubi means you have your work cut out for you. Or did you expect destiny to hand itself to you?"

Neji smiled. "After the fight with Naruto, I wonder if there is such a thing as destiny. Why would anyone who can see their destiny desire to work for what is guaranteed?"

Hiashi gave a light chuckle. "I have often wondered the same thing, until I realized that we are destined to see that which is necessary to see."

"I think my head just exploded." Neji groaned.

* * *

The concrete shifted beneath his feet as he climbed the small summit. "Lady Hinata!" Ko called to his charge. He stumbled closer as the sun caught the glint of her navy blue hair as its strands unfolded in the wind. Her Byakugan was active and her mind clearly focused on the center of the crater.

"Lady Hinata..." He placed a hand on her shoulder. His vision wasn't as good as hers, but he could tell the battle down there had shifted against the blonde. She didn't respond to his presence, her demeanor suddenly shifting uncomfortably.

He tigthened his grip on her shoulder. _She wouldn't..._ "Lady Hinata... You must not..."

She motioned to take a step forward, only looking his direction when he held her shoulder firm. "The foe is too strong, you will only-" His sentence would not be finished. Sharp pain shot through his elbow and knee. Hinata struck with inhuman speed and precision, closing a few of his chakra points around his extremities.

As he crumpled to a knee, she turned to him, her eyes betraying a mortal sadness. "I am sorry, Ko. There is nothing left undone."

Ko was stricken slack as she turned and dashed into the crater. With only the most basic of human reaction reclaimed, he screamed. "Lady Hinata!" But he already knew it was a scream for his sake. The girl he had guarded like a child of his own, from the time she was in a cradle, would now step into her grave.

* * *

Cerulean orbs, framed with the most pure form of desperation, burned across the distance. She could drink each emotion flowing from them, and her heart truly ached for the pain she had caused, that she knew would come. She forced herself up; he couldn't see her give in. Her arms burned and shook uncontrolably as her teeth grated across the packed clay of the crater.

"Hinata... Just... Stop, please..." The blonde lowered his eyes.

Hinata felt her heart stretch across the ground to the blonde. She knew neither of them could stop what the young man knew would break him in two. She clasped the rod pinning his hands to the ground, panting for breath. "I don't..." he looked up as she labored for breath "go back on my word." His eyes stared up into hers, the rawest form of horror painted upon them. "That is my nindo."

Her stomach was abuzz with wings as her entire body was relieved the strain of gravity. Hinata lost sight of Naruto as she flipped and spun up into the air. It was a surreal sensation, and would have been enjoyable - even thrilling were it under different circumstances.

"Hinata!" His voice screamed as she caught sight of him once more. The ground rushed forward, filling the entirety of her vision before she slammed, limp into the ground. There was a sound of unsheathed metal, and cloth whirling toward her.

She shrieked with a scream as she felt the rod pierce her lung. Her arm flailed to grasp the unwanted intrusion and her knees curled reflexively.

It was a moment before she realized that her hand grasped nothing and that everything was dim. She was panting, gasping for breath, blankets thrown askew in her bed. A waxing moon shone brightly through the window, glistening off of the midnight dew on the tree leaves. She collapsed backwards onto her bed.

"I... I was supposed to die..." She said, softly, to herself. She curled around her pillow instinctively, strangling it for comfort. Never had she been more sure of her actions and the outcome than when she set foot in that crater. In the moment, she could see it clearly; her sacrifice would be the breeze that signaled a hurricane, the divine wind of salvation for the Leaf.

Instead, she had survived. Not that she wanted to sound ungrateful, but she certainly hadn't counted on being around to have flashbacks. Or worry about how Naruto would react to her, now. When it came to the blonde, recently, she wondered if she really had died since he seemed to ignore her.

She was annoyed with herself for being irritated by that fact. She wasn't exactly supposed to be alive for him to interact with. It was hardly fair for her to feel irritated by his lack of... What? A sudden proclomation of love? For him to show up at her window some night with horny teenage fantasies? The Hyuuga sighed, pulling herself from bed. There was absolutely no way she was going to get any sleep like this.

Hinata dressed in a hurry and dashed from the compound. Once again, she found herself sprinting through the village, or what remained of it, without a direction in mind. She found a set of trees still standing and made a short 'game' of dashing between them in figure-eights. Another whim caught her and she leapt into the trees, bark sliding beneath her hands as she flipped upright to perch atop a branch. Hinata paused for a moment, scanning the cannopy.

A spontaneous spark sent her rolling off of the branch, glancing off of a tree before drawing a hand full of shuriken. Hinata activated her Byakugan, eying the suspiciously innocent tree stump a few meters away as she zagged an oblique angle away from it. She flung two shuriken, reversed direction, threw three shuriken, angled a reverse to close direction, and sent two kunai to follow.

The stump couldn't help but be awes-struck, its stature frozen even as shurken and kunai embedded themselves into its bark.

Hinata frowned as she slowed to an awkward gait. Honestly, she wasn't quite sure why such an emphasis was placed on shuriken and kunai. The damned things never seemed to work as advertised. The theory was nice - a ninja's skin was just as vulnerable to being cut as any other person's, barring special abilities. Therefor, even the most powerful of threats could be silenced with a well placed piece of sharpened metal.

Hinata was convinced the practical meaning was more symbolic than effective. "The unheeded threat can be even more costly than the most obvious of the impending threats."

Not that it stopped the likes of Tenten. She took the phrase: "Accuracy by volume" quite literally, and to the extreme. If the chance of success was 1%, ten salvos of ten kunai put the statistical odds of success at "favorable."

The Hyuuga stopped short of the stump and reached for her kunai. Motion in the crater caught her attention and she focused her consciousness on the disturbance. "Naruto..." she couldn't help but whisper aloud. Her features softened as she saw his face contorted in a conflicted state of emotions, wanding about the crater.

* * *

Naruto sighed with what could only be described as a shiver. No matter how many times he came here, even after a day of rain, her blood could still be seen in the sun-baked clay. The hole where the rod had punched clear through Hinata and into the ground was still there, too.

It had all been so fast, it had all been too much to handle. He stooped, touching the stain of blood across the clay. "I'm sorry..." He choked. Naruto could still the look she'd held in her eyes, that day. It haunted his dreams. She knew that she would... No... She knew that she _needed_ to die.

"But... Why?" He asked, aloud, again. "You... Didn't have to." Everything he did... It was to protect his friends, those he cared about. "No one should ever have to die for me." Truth be told, Hinata scared the living hell out of him. It was easy to work himself to the bone under the harsh and critical stares of people who hated them. He would admit that a part of his determination came from the desire to spite those in the village who had looked down upon him. The other part of his determination came from his desire to protect those who were important to him, those who did seem to appreciate his existence. If he died keeping those people safe, he could die in peace.

Somehow, he could see that same determination reflected in Hinata's eyes. She would have died, at peace with the world, trying to keep him from harm. "How..." he allowed himself to wonder aloud, "am I supposed to keep you safe?"

Naruto gave a frustrated sigh. No matter how many times he walked here and relived the moment, it brought him no answers, and even less comfort. He sat down on the ground, folding his legs. For the time being, there was one thing that helped him find some stability. For a brief moment, he ceased being independent from nature as he took the essence of the universe into himself. The breadth of the crater he was in filled his bones, the trees tickled his skin, and a light whisp of wind stirred behind him.

"S-So... What is it like?" Her small voice practically exploded through the crater.

* * *

Hinata scolded herself for sneaking up behind the blonde. She really didn't intend to, but she was not known for being overt in her actions. She caused Naruto the pain he felt, though. She couldn't leave him to deal with it, alone.

"It is kind of hard to find words for it." Naruto's response was unexpectedly calm and detached. "When I do this, I can feel how small my body is, but I also feel how big everything else is and take that feeling into myself."

"Interesting." Hinata walked around to sit in front of him. "And you can sense the world around you?"

Naruto's face twitched for a moment. "Yeah... I ... Was glad to realize you were alive when I returned to being... Me."

"Naruto..." Hinata wasn't sure what to say, but she tried to put comfort into her voice.

"Thankyou, Hinata..." the blonde said, still in his meditative pose "I ... I ..." Silver streaks shot down his cheeks, spawning a cascade of glistening orbs.

* * *

Naruto was trying really hard not to break down. He knew that he would have to face her at some point... He knew that it was wrong to avoid her... But his mind was completely frozen on the fear of losing someone who would stand with him on the brink of death so naturally.

"I ... " he stammered. He felt the fluid flowing down his cheeks, his breath begin to hitch and choke. He kept his eyes closed, as if it would somehow keep the girl in front of him from seeing.

A warmth rested itself on his left arm. "It is okay, Naruto." A familiar, light whisp of wind fluttered from her warmth. Somehow, he felt it call to him, asking him to respond. He hesitated for a moment before another flutter of wind sent its call straight to his bones. In it was a twinge of loneliness, even desperation.

He cycled the chakra in his body, a thunderous echo of chakra calling back to the whisp of wind. A mild breeze seemed to stir his whole body, and his thunder seemed to reply in harmony. A storm soon whipped through his essence; not destructive, not creative, the storm simply was what came naturally. In the wind, he could feel the young Hyuuga. She swirled around and enveloped what was important, howled of what was empty, and pushed firmly on her resolutions. Her ground split and shook where his quaking fears lay, the echo of thunder was joined by the chorus of a thousand gales.

Slowly, the storm died down. As the final echo of thunder faded, Naruto opened his eyes. "Hinata... That was... Amazing. What was that?"

Hinata blushed. "It... It's an old art that my family used to use."

The blonde looked down at his arm, quizically. "That didn't feel l ike any Gentle Fist strike I've ever felt." He shot her a sly smile.

She stifled a giggle. "It is different than the Gentle Fist. It isn't supposed to shut down or activate chakra points. It is meant to help heal another person by working with their chakra. Not many Hyuuga practice it, anymore."

Naruto thought for a moment. "So... That really was you..." His mind drifted beyond his words.

The blush on Hinata's cheeks accentuated a curt nod.

Naruto felt himself react on pure instinct. Before he could fully comprehend his actions, he had positioned himself next to her, wrapping both his arms awkwardly around her. He tried to find words as memories of her gentleness played without form through his mind. Words... Words simply didn't exist. There was only one thing he knew. "Hinata..." he said, reinforcing his embrace around a shocked Hyuuga "Someone as gentle and amazing as you are deserves to be happy."

Naruto felt a pair of hesitant hands trail up the sides of his back before settling in a gentle embrace. "And a person as bold and inspiring as you should not have to be alone, Naruto." Somewhat to Naruto's surprise, she shifted to allow for a more proper embrace. A chill Naruto had long stopped shivering from faded before a new warmth flooded over the blonde. Even the vaccant spanse of the crater felt full with the young Hyuuga in his arms.

* * *

A patch of blonde hair tickled the Hyuuga's neck as its owner shifted. Hinata smiled, a touch of contentment warming her features. The Naruto who looked so tortured an hour ago was now peacefully asleep on her shoulder. Looking at him, Hinata couldn't help but think it was the first time he'd truly slept in a very long time. A more instinctive part of her was absolutely elated to be the one to settle Naruto's fears, but she quickly cautioned herself of such a mundane thought. Naruto's happiness is what was important, not her importance to him.

It was odd, though. She certainly thought she would be more nervous, to be scared, to be 'Hinata.' Sure, it was a bit different and more awkward than she had imagined it would be. Naruto's hip had found a way to pinch her thigh and drive her whole leg to go to sleep after she'd cradled him almost like a baby, but her heart wasn't hammering in her chest, she was pretty sure she hadn't fainted, it was as if this was a normal thing. Once she knew what Naruto needed, it all just flowed naturally.

Hinata tightened her embrace for a moment, reveling in the sensation of the blonde's presence. "Perhaps," she whispered "I have been alone, too."

The young Hyuuga looked up into the sky, admiring the features of the full moon. _Even the light must return to shadow._

* * *

Hiashi took a protracted breath, soaking in the aroma of the tea before him. He liked to think he could touch the depths of sleep even when he had to be awake. The old Hyuuga never did figure out how to become one of those 'morning people.'

"Uncle," Neji started across from him. "I am concerned about Lady Hinata."

Hiashi let the tea wash over his tongue, savoring the slight tinge of bitterness as the liquid left a soothing sensation in his throat. The pollen this spring was promising to be a torture to his sinuses. "Is this above and beyond the normal concerns?"

Neji seemed to sharpen his brow, halting his tea just beneath his chin. "She has been acting a bit... Lost." He allowed Hiashi to finish another sip of tea before continuing. "Ko has also expressed his concerns."

"Has he?" Hiashi allowed himself to sound amused as he poured another round of tea.

"He was there when Lady Hinata..." Neji seemed to be searching for a word.

"When she chose to sacrifice herself for the Kyuubi container." Hiashi completed for him.

The younger Hyuuga seemed to pause for a moment. "Uncle... I believe Naruto deserves more consideration than such a title implies. He-"

"Then do not hesitate to use his proper name." Hiashi interrupted to look straight at Neji. He paused before returning to his tea-sipping ritual. "If you are going to use the darker arts of diplomacy, you will not get very far by so obviously betraying your true beliefs."

There was a knock at the door. "Lord Hiashi..." Ko's voice could be heard from the other side.

"You may enter, Ko." Hiashi instructed.

The door slid open, Ko gave a brief bow "Lord Hia-"

Hiashi's brow furled. "Ko, how many times do I have to tell you not to waste my time? Join us at the table." The older Hyuuga caught Neji bury a smile into his tea glass as Hiashi poured the new arrival a cup of his own.

The branch member seemed to be mildly confused as he walked to take a position next to Neji. "Thank you, Lord Hiashi." His eyes darted around and his posture shifted continually.

"Tea calms the nerves, Ko. Perhaps you should have some before you tell the tale of how you came to seek my council." Hiashi deliberately placed himself into a meditative posture.

Ko warily raised the tea, obviously suspicious of the whole ordeal. "This morning, a few of the servants reported that Lady Hinata was not in her quarters."

The elder Hyuuga looked at Ko through lidded eyes. "And what has become of my daughter?"

Ko nearly choked on his tea. "No harm has come to Lady Hinata, Lord Hiashi!" He fumbled with his cup for a moment.

Hiashi seized the opportunity. "Forgive me, such an obviously nervous person who starts his visit with such information..."

"W-Well..." Ko eyed the table as if it were ice to be treaded. "I managed to locate Lady Hinata early thismorning in the company of the Uzumaki boy."

"Interesting..." Hiashi laced amusement into his voice while dropping to a dangerous tone. "I sincerely hope she was not bringing shame upon the Hyuuga."

Ko almost spilled his tea. "Nothing of the sort, Lord Hiashi!" He fumbled for a moment, shifting his position. "Lady Hinata would never be so indecent." Neji seemed to shift uncomfortably. "It is just that the Uzumaki boy is..."

Hiashi allowed himself to perk an eyebrow in Ko's direction. "Is...?" He prompted.

There were several tense moments, the click of pendulum shifts could be heard against the backdrop of bird chirping. "I believe Ko is expressing concern over Naruto being seen with such a close affiliation to a Hyuuga member, Uncle." Neji offered.

Hiashi leveled a gaze at Ko. "Is that your concern?"

Ko sat stiffly, eyes studying the hands braced firmly on his knees. "Yes, Lord Hiashi. I - I tried warning her-"

Hiahsi couldn't hold back any longer. He allowed himself to interrupt Ko with a round of hearty laughter. Neji averted his eyes, the faintest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Ko, for his part, just stared blankly. "Oh, forgive me. It's been so long since I've laughed like that." Hiashi choked. "I think Hinata has made it clear that we would have to kill her to keep her from seeing the boy."

"I ... Expected a bit more resistance." Ko sounded utterly bewildered.

"I believe, Ko, that Uncle has expected this to happen for quite some time." Neji offered in his typically cool tone.

"I suspected it amidst Hinata's participation in her first Chuunin exams. Those two resonate with the same destiny." Hiashi confirmed. In truth, he'd begun to suspect something even back in the days of the academy. It became clear to him that something far more fundamental than training was affecting his daughter. It wasn't until the Chuunin exams that he realized specifically what was going on.

Ko had sharpened his brows, his lips curled slightly; "Then... All of this time... I should have-"

"Ko, do not fault yourself. Things are as they should be." Hiashi interrupted. His breath halted for a minute as he shifted to stand. The old Hyuuga turned, allowing his gaze to fall upon the old family portrait hanging on the wall. He could feel the awkward stares of Neji and Ko behind him. "This does all bring up a very interesting question, though."

Neji seemed to catch on, "I have often wondered how Naruto came to be selected as the host of the Kyuubi, myself."

"I am not sure I understand..." Ko rustled.

"While I am sure there were many orphans made that day" Hiashi strode to the far side of the room. "It would still be odd for The Fourth to grab just any screaming infant he found and decide to seal a demon inside him." Hiashi had been a part of the council discussions in the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack. There had been a hell of a lot of unknowns and The Third Hokage made damned sure to keep it that way.

"Are you suggesting...?" Ko drifted beyond his words.

"One thing is for certain." Hiashi slid open the large exterior bay. "The Uzumaki boy is far more than a run of the mill orphan. I believe it is time for his lineage to come to light."

* * *

Author's After-word:

Those of you coming from Dynamics of A Future will recognize some plot elements, here. I think some of you will immediately realize why I decided that my understanding of the Hyuuga has developed to the point that a complete re-draft is necessary. I also plan to address the recovery and build-up to war (am I the only one who noticed that the Leaf looked completely rebuilt in the latest chapter - complete with the Hokage's office? ).

So, what happened to Dynamics of A Future? A lot. When I first started the series, I had a relatively shallow grasp of the Hyuuga and of the events that created the Naruto universe. The more I analyzed the drafts of Kishimoto's work and analyzed the development of his main character, as well as a few other oddities... The more profound the implications were.

I've read many stories centering around the Hyuuga... And while many authors do a good job of making a particular character like Hinata or Neji work/fit... They always have a very awkward and static Hyuuga clan. Granted, Kishimoto doesn't give us much to work with - but no one seems to quite know what to do with the Hyuuga as a whole.

There is a lot I want to develop in this story, the hardest part will be resisting the temptation to spew it all out in a frantic mess as opposed to integrating it into a deeper environment. We've all read those stories that would have been great... Except the author structures things to tell us about the story rather than experience the story.

For those who are fellow authors and/or aspiring authors - there is a critical difference between talking about a story and telling a story. "Naruto was disappointed, he wanted the candy" is a relatively flat statement. "Naruto stamped his foot, that candy would have really hit the spot" is a statement that allows the reader to perceive a behavior that implies disappointment.

That isn't to say that direct/flat statements are bad, but that too many of them can make a great story a poor reading experience. In a similar way, explaining everything that goes on in the story directly or all at once can do the same thing.

Regardless, I have prattled on far longer than necessary. Like the story? Love it? Hate it? Think I should draw and quarter myself in the town square? All reviews are welcome and appreciated.


	2. 02: Origin

Foreword:

Yeah. Stuff. Things. Here's the story:

* * *

A Destiny Entwined

Chapter Two: Origin

Tree leaves on the other side of the window could be made out on the deep, red surface of the large glass beads staring at her. "Kagome..." the founding female of Team Seven grumbled, pushing the vulpine plushie aside "He is not a god damned fox."

"Come on, Sakura." The girl's jet black hair flipped in a manner deserving of the pony-tail wear style. "The Fourth Hokage just happened to find some random toddler to seal the Kyuubi-No-Kit-Fucking-Sune into?"

"We've been over this, Kagome." Sakura growled. Ever since Naruto went fox-shit and saved the day, every girl in the whole of the fire country seemed to take an unhealthy interest in the medic ninja's team mate.

Kagome adjusted her glasses with her middle finger. "Then who were his parents?"

"I don't know - probably some genin couple who got obliterated in the Kyuubi's attack." Sakura bit her lip. She really could have worded that better. "There wasn't exactly a shortage of orphans after all of that mess."

"But a newborn? What are the odds that a newborn wouldn't be blown away with the mother?" Kagome pressed.

Sakura slapped her hands on the table. "Okay - so The Fourth somehow sealed the Kyuubi into looking like a human." The pinkette rolled her eyes. "So... What? Do you think you're going to teach a ferral beast to love over a bowl of ramen, or something?"

"N-no..." The younger girl looked down.

"I suppose it isn't enough that he is one of the few ninja who can create valleys out of mountains... He has to be some kind of hanyou, or something, to be worth pursuing." Sakura scoffed, slamming the seal down onto another set of records.

The reply was a soft one. "I didn't mean it like that."

Sakura sighed. "Just... Trust me. Naruto and that... That... _Thing_ are two different entities." Kagome's eyes were locked on Sakura as she continued. "The fox is the essence of malice born from the purest of contempt, steeped in cynicism. I've seen what happens to Naruto when ... It... Comes out. I am not sure he would find all of these kitsune plushies so endearing."

Kagome seemed to lose herself in thought as she began sliding paperwork into folders. "But... What if his evil self was sealed inside of hi-"

"God damnit, Kagome" Sakura interrupted. "I will admit that you are a good secretary, but if I hear about this one more time today, I'm going to make you a research subject."

* * *

The blonde felt his arm go numb before he somersaulted back and away from the threat. _Train with Hinata, I said. It would be fun, I said. _A purple streak clung to his retreat and Naruto felt two strikes glance off of his abdomen. He completed the substitution just in time, swapping places with a shadow clone not at all too soon.

The blonde took a few moments to steady himself. Naruto smiled as a small trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. _I must be one of those massochists_. Solid strikes, glancing strikes... With Hinata, none of it really mattered. There was something absolutely beautiful about the way she was utterly destroying his shadow clone, right now. The Hyuuga's hands would flow smoothly in oblique arcs before snapping her fingers into their target.

Her raven locks flared as she circled to face him before they disappeared behind her piercing gaze. She covered the distance almost instantly, her first strikes were coming almost as fast as he realized her change of direction. Naruto grunted, thrusting his already numb arm into her strikes. As she rotated to rebound her attack, Naruto swept low, catching her left calf. Hinata's balance shifted, and the blonde seized the opportunity, dropping his hip into hers.

He hit the ground with a dull "Ow...," taking the opportunity to watch as a few blades of grass swayed with his breath. Hinata's legs shifted under his own. "Are you okay, Hinata?"

"Y-You're the one bleeding, Naruto." Her voice almost tickled the back of his neck.

Naruto shifted, propping himself into a reclined position with his good arm. Hinata was still laying on her back, her breathing labored and her hair sprawled like a sheet over sprigs of grass. "That is why I was asking. I've made myself bleed enough to know how much it takes out of you."

The girl giggled. "I-I suppose that is one way to look at it." She rolled to her side to face the Uzumaki. "Thank you, Naruto... For training with me today.. A-And just, everything."

The young man couldn't help but smile. Somehow, the girl's words of thanks touched something deeper. "You're welcome, Hinata." His smile faded, though, when he saw the look in her eyes. _Disgust? But why would Hina-_

"H-here," She started toward him. "Th-There is still some internal bleeding."

Naruto didn't have time to process, much less protest what was happening. Hinata's hands firmly pushed him onto his back. "Hina-"

"This will only take a minute." Her voice mirrored Neji's detached coolness.

Then he felt it, that gentle whisp that was Hinata's chakra. It spoke a language devoid of form but absolute in its message. Though he didn't know what to say, he knew how to answer. His chakra flared, answering the call of his precious friend.

Her response didn't translate into anything but motion. He moved his chakra in accordance to hers. Perhaps it could be described as a dance... Or she was singing and he was dancing. The whole affair was beyond physical description but still felt as natural as walking or breathing. Soon, the song started to wind to a close; the sunset's parting breath ushering in the stillness of night.

The blonde sat back up and looked at the Hyuuga, a mild blush lit her skin and her eyes refused to make contact. He briefly noted that he was no longer numb. The sharp pang in his stomach was also gone. "Hinata... I didn't know you knew healing jutsu."

The girl shook her head. "I-It isn't a jutsu. I-It's much older."

Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Still, thank you for healing me."

The Hyuuga seemed to pause with uncertainty. "I didn't heal you. Your chakra did all of the work."

"I ... I don't think I understand." The blonde rubbed the back of his head with a smile.

Hinata stood, extending a hand to help the blonde up. Naruto took it, bouncing up to her side. "You know how Ninjutsu works, don't you?" The girl asked.

"Uh... Well, there was something about chakra, and mixing it with our stamina, or something." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, again as the Hyuuga looked at him with blank eyes. Naruto knew he was not much of an academic. He was sure there was more to ninjutsu than fancy finger shapes and 'good vibes' (even with the proper hand signs, a jutsu performed with 'bad' or 'confused' chakra sensations could come out less than ideal)... But Naruto was content to leave that to people like Shikamaru.

The Hyuuga nodded, leading the two out of the training grounds. "Ninjutsu combines the physical energies of the body with the life energies of the body." Naruto felt her grab his arm and a strange buzzing sensation run through it. "My family's Gentle Fist style is the art of using our life energies to disrupt the life energies of others."

Naruto didn't pretend to understand exactly how Neji had beaten the shit out of him. To be honest, he didn't exactly understand how he'd defeated Neji, either. Neji could see through everything, yet had been too arrogant to look under his feet - or that is all Naruto could figure. "So... You use your chakra to mess with other people's chakra..." Then Naruto thought he understood: "So, that thing you do is like the Gentle Fist, but not meant to hurt people?"

Hinata nodded again, ducking under a low-hanging tree branch. "It isn't as popular as the combat arts, but it's been with our family for as long as records of us exist. The organization of the Ninja Villages favors combat and our family has become more reliant upon the Leaf's medical ninja."

Naruto's gait deepened as the two tackled one of the steep embankements on the path. "But you said it wasn't a healing jutsu."

"It isn't." Hinata paused to look at the sky. A gentle rustling sound preceded the drop of water that struck Naruto in the forehead. "Healing, or Medical, Ninjutsu use one's own life energies directly on the physical energies of another person. One uses their energy to force a body into healing wounds."

The blonde tasted a bit of salt as a drop streaked from his hair and into the corner of his mouth. "I bet you would do great with medical ninjutsu, Hinata! Perhaps you and Sakura could -"

"Naruto," Her voice weaved through the dull roar of rain upon leaves. "I-I appreciate your confidence, b-but Ninjutsu is not natural to a Hyuuga."

The blonde silently scratched the back of his neck. Her tone implied he'd broached on some kind of heresy, or something. Ninja not learning Ninjutsu seemed like a contradiction in terms. The blonde sighed. Best to place this piece of the Hinata puzzle into the "weird - is this even from the same puzzle" box, with just about all of the other pieces he had so far."

"Uh... Well, is ramen natural to a Hyuuga?" He asked, sheepishly.

The girl's eyes swelled to the size of ramen bowls. "I-I ..." She huffed and stomped her foot "I would be honored!"

* * *

"Forgive my disturbance, Lord Nara." Hiashi bowed.

"Lord Hyuuga, you and I have known each other long enough. I find formalities more troublesome than they are worth, especially between friends." Shikaku drawled. "I have the Shogi table set up, if you would like."

Hiashi smiled. "It has been quite some time since I had a decent challenge."

Shikaku held the canvas of the tent open "I apologize for my lack of more proper accomodations."

"As you should." Hiashi ducked into the temporary Nara compound. "Any respectable Nara would have foreseen this event and planned accordingly." The canvas glowed in the late morning sunlight, a few shadows danced over the covering. Opposite the foot of the bedroll sat a shogi board atop a table set for kneeling.

Shikaku laughed, offering the Hyuuga a kneeling place before the low rising table. "With a sense of humor like that, it is no wonder most of Konoha thinks you're a supreme prick."

Hiashi perked an eyebrow and perked up on his knees "There are those who don't?"

The Nara settled in across from Hiashi "Well, for someone who isn't an Uchiha, you do a damned fine job."

"Of being a prick, or illusionary arts?"

"I will just say 'yes.'" Sikaku's eyes looked up from under his brow.

There was a time, Hiashi recalled, when he believed Shogi was just a game of egotistical armchair generals. He quietly activated his Byakugan. He learned, however, that hobbies shared by powerful men is less about the hobby and more about the power. Business owners in other lands didn't get together to hit little round balls with sticks because it was actually entertaining for them.

His career in service to the Leaf's ninja ranks gave him a slightly different perspective on things. When he saw business leaders playing a game that involved traveling across thousands of meters in wide open fields - he didn't see 'silly rich people.' He saw a nightmare of an espionage mission.

Speaking of... Hiashi lauded Danzo's passion for espionage and tactful subtlety, he really did. The man really had a passion for defending the Leaf. And, By Kami, if there was a soul in the Leaf who knew about a threat to the Leaf, Danzo knew, too. And therein lay the problem with Danzo. Hiashi was fairly certain Danzo had a record of how many times the Hyuuga leader had defecated - no doubt justifying the record as a means of spotting irregularities that could indicate poisoning or an impostor, or something. Regardless, the man spent more time holding the Leaf in contempt than he did maintaining useful spy networks. The fact that Jiraiya had single-handedly amassed a human intelligence network more effective than what ROOT's resources could muster spoke volumes about what the organization had become.

Hence why Shogi was such a great game.

The two men set their Kings, Generals, and Knights. "So, how is the family? Any suitors for Hinata?" Shikaku thinly veiled the question.

"No." Hiashi de-activated his Byakugan and set down his Lances, followed by the Angle. Shikaku also followed the Ohashi set-up. It was a simple signal the two had developed over the years. The two would set up the boards following Ito or Ohashi setup orders based on their knowledge or suspicion of being under observation. Starting with the Lances, as opposed to Pawns, meant you felt you were under observation.

"The elders are being eerily quiet about suggesting an arrangement." Hiashi continued, having finished setting up the board. "I am sure," he hovered his hand over the king, as if pondering the move "recent actions" without pausing, his hand drifted away "have given them much to think about." He moved the silver general in the right-hand formation. Recent events - daughter. "How are things going in yours? Shikamaru seems to have developed quite the reputation, so far."

Shikaku stroked his beard, moving a pawn. "Like most young men, his knowledge surpasses his wisdom. But that will come in time."

Hiashi contemplated with his hand over the angle. "Well, that is to be expected, given his lineage." He moved the same silver general, again. "He is prone to such pursuits." The system wasn't exactly a hard-coded science. There was a considerable amount of interpretation involved, and a fair amount of the communication involved could simply be confirming that the interpretation was correct.

Shikaku leveled his eyes at Hiashi. Undoubtedly, he'd picked up on the subject. Technically, discussing matters of the Kyuubi and Naruto were still considered classified. The number of people who knew... Or were supposed to know... The truth were few and far between. The Nara, historically, were given access to just about any information or discussion simply because it always proved futile to try to keep secrets from them. Danzo would be able to produce evidence that the two spoke, even if he couldn't prove what about. Hiashi knew if he were to get any information, it would likely be cursory references to where he could go to compile the truth - a means of engineering plausible deniability.

Shikaku moved another pawn with no additional gestures. "As are we all." He stroked his chin. "So, tell me what you think of the council's decision to appoint Danzo as the interim Hokage."

"I believe you know what I think." Hiashi advanced a pawn. "Dazno is sure to be pleased with it. I am honestly concerned, though. While I believe the man has a great passion for the Leaf, it is hard to see his orders to reserve ROOT units even after the decimation of our forces as anything other than plotting a coupe."

Sikaku's hand hovered over a lance. "It would certainly seem that his ambitions have blinded him." His hand moved away. "His philosophy has caused him to embrace any means to achieve an end any man would find noble." Another pawn was moved.

"I think we can both agree to that point." Hiashi picked up on Shikaku's warning. "So, tell me, are the rumors about Shikamaru and that sand ninja true?" Hiashi advanced a pawn.

"Those two are too smart to realize that they are." Shikaku laughed. Hiashi couldn't help but realize how the destruction and reconstruction were both white elephants in the room for the two.

* * *

Hinata felt a bit of heat rise in her cheeks as Naruto turned, holding the canvas at bay for her. "Th-Thankyou" her voice came out a bit higher than intended.

The blonde just smiled and rubbed the back of his neck as the Hyuuga stepped through. One man, apparently a construction worker, sat at the far end of the stall. Hinata didn't see anyone behind the counter. "Hey, Old man!" Naruto bellowed, having entered behind her.

Hinata felt herself cringe. "N-Naruto, shouldn't you be more-"

"Well if it isn't our hero!" A young girl came out from the back room. Hinata noticed the girl's eyes pass over her before darting back. "A-and Lady Hyuuga! It's an honor."

"Uh, Thank you." Hinata fumbled with her hands a moment. Honestly, she wished her family's reputation would cease preceding her.

Naruto ushered Hinata to sit down at the bar, joining her at the next. "Is it just you today, Ayame?" Naruto asked.

"Father will be back in a little bit. These construction workers pay very well, but they've run us out of change." Hinata felt Naruto shifting next to her and saw he was digging for his wallet. "Oh, no!" Ayame held up her hands. "It's on the house for you two. We would be back with our family in Rice country if it weren't for your shadow clones digging our fryers out of the rubble. And... Well... Dead, if you hadn't ... Whatever it was you did. That was the weirdest experience I've ever had."

"Ah... Well, you should really thank Nagato for that." Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"B-But if you wouldn't have..." Hinata let herself trail off, feeling like she interrupted.

"Lady Hyuuga is right, _Lord Uzumaki._" Ayame teased... Or was it flirting? Hinata squashed the possessive instinct rising in her core. She was not so insecure as to think Naruto's friends needed to be regulated. The girl made her Naruto's favorite ramen day after day - if Naruto was going to go for her, it would be a done deal. Which led Hinata to a somewhat heartbreaking thought. Ayame seemed like a nice girl, and she did deserve a good man... She certainly hoped losing Naruto wouldn't hurt her too much.

Hinata sighed. How arrogant could she be, assuming Naruto was already off the market...

"Uh... Can I get you something, Lady Hyuuga." Ayame's voice broke through.

Hinata realized she'd zoned out. She felt more heat rise to her cheeks and sweep down her chest. "Uh... Uhm..." The menu board may as well have been one of the Word Search problems her father seemed obsessed with. He'd spend hours staring at the unopened book of them through his Byakugan.

She felt Naruto's arm press against hers. "The Miso Ramen is a good start." He said, softly.

"Y-Yeah... I'll just start with some Miso Ramen, please." Hinata felt the heat in her cheeks intensify.

"Alright, I will be right back with that." Ayame turned and walked into the back room.

A few silent, but comfortable moments passed. She enjoyed being able to feel Naruto's presence on her arm, and the gentle pressure both seemed to be putting into it. She couldn't think of much to say, at the moment, but the contact let her know that it was okay.

"E-Excuse me." The man at the other end of the bar spoke up. His voice spoke about a decade older than the two late teenagers. "Did I hear correctly? You are the Hero of the Leaf, Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto turned. "Uh... Yeah, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." His hand stretched to scratch the back of his neck. Hinata couldn't help but marvel at how the blonde would so frequently and brazenly announce his name and presence to get attention. Now that he got the admiration he'd desired as a kid, he seemed as though he had no idea what to do with it.

The man stood and approached. "Uh, I know this is awkward, but..." He pulled some kind of orange stuffed toy out of his pack "I'm from Wave country. My niece was there when you put an end to Gato's tyranny. She is turning eleven this year, and, well - if... If you'd sign this, it would make her day." The man presented a vulpine plushie with nine fluffy tails.

The Leaf's various clothing and souvenir lines had immediately capitalized on the fox as a symbol of their triumph over the attack. The residents of the Leaf were a bit reluctant to embrace it, for obvious reasons, but Fire Country and foreign travelers on the whole snapped these plush toys up like candy.

"Uh... Sure." Naruto took the plush toy as the man approached, turning it over to find the tag. Hinata noted that he paused in thought, pursing his lips before writing what had to be more than a simple signature.

"Thank you very much." The man had a smile rivaling Naruto's. "This will really mean a lot to her."

"Ah, well, any time, you know?" Naruto smiled back, returning the small stuffed animal. The man gave an awkward bow before ducking out of the stall.

Hinata couldn't resist giving Naruto a reassuring nudge as he sat back down. "You really did make his day."

"I know... But it's just so... Weird. I'm not used to being..." The blonde seemed to fade.

"Special?" Hinata offered, feeling as if her heart wrapped around the young man.

"Yeah..." Naruto sighed, studying the table.

Hinata wished the stool wasn't bolted to the floor, sliding her arm around his. "You have always been special, Naruto. Before your strength as a ninja of the Leaf, there is your warmth." She held his arm a bit tighter in her own. "You see the best in people, even when they have given up hope. You stand for what is right and against what is wrong."

"Hinata..." Naruto looked back at her, obviously lost for words. "You really are a great person." He seemed to settle.

"Well," Ayame lofted as she strode behind the counter. "Now that is impressive." Naruto and Hinata exchanged a puzzled glance. "Not many people can leave that boy speechless." She set the bowls of ramen down in front of her guests.

Hinata felt heat rise into her cheeks again. "I-I was just..."

Ayame waved her hand slightly. "It's a good thing. He can talk too much." A cry of protest could be heard from the Uzumaki. "It's just amazing how you do it so naturally."

"I ... Uh... Thankyou." Hinata never knew how to react to these types of scenarios.

"It's my pleasure Lady Hyuuga." There was that formality again. That was one thing about Naruto... No one ever had to question whether or not he was showing respect for the person in front of him, or the family they came from. She could only imagine what kind of catastrophe her crush would cause inside the Hyuuga compound. He had the diplomatic skills of Shinra Tensei...

"Well," Ayame broke thee temporary silence "I have work to do in the back. If you two need anything, just holler." Hinata swore she saw the girl smirk as she turned and walked into the back.

The Hyuuga turned toward her Uzumaki counterpart, and about fell out of her seat. His face was the model expression of the cat who ate the bird - his mouth, while pursed around a fountain of noodles, was somewhat crestfallen and his eyes held the open expression of panic. "... But I was just so hungry..." He groaned, muffled behind the noodles.

Hinata couldn't help it. She felt her body convulse in pure, unrestrained laughter. She really wasn't sure what, exactly, was so funny about it - Naruto digging into food the very moment it arrived was expected. It just had to be the combination of his adorable expression, reaction, and the situation.

By the time her laughter started to die down, the corners of her mouth tingled, protesting their return to a normal state. Naruto had slurped down the noodles and was looking at her with his head slightly tilted. "Wow... I don't think I've ever heard you laugh like that." He smiled. "That was awesome!"

_Did... Did he do that on purpose?_ Hinata felt heat rise in her cheeks, again. "W-well..."

"You should laugh like that more often, it's adorable." Naruto shifted his gaze into the distance before ensnaring more noodles in his chopsticks.

The young hyuuga simply blushed before a rumbling in her stomach made her jump. Quickly, she broke apart her chopsticks, said a small prayer, and savored the salty broth that clung to the noodles. Hyuuga weren't exactly vegan - but much of their 'traditional' diet was based around plants. The Hyuuga were, however, practical. The 'practical diet' simply tried to limit high consumption of simple carbohydrates.

"Naruto?" Hinata remembered an old question.

"Yeah?" He raised his bowl to drink the broth.

The girl couldn't help but find his pace of eating somewhat ridiculous. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you write, earlier?"

Naruto set down the bowl, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He looked into the corner of the room, eyes distant. "Well... At first, I had no idea what to write. Then I thought about the nights I spent alone," Hinata's heart fell. "when I would cling to anything just to feel like something, or someone, was there. I just thought about something that would have helped to see."

Hinata realized she had Naruto wrapped in an embrace in her left arm. "Naruto..." _You don't have to be alone, anymore._

* * *

Sakura strode through the tunnels, dodging past a few workers who were busy pulling bundles of wire tight against the wall. The original hospital was just about at the center of the crater that used to be Konoha. The vast tunnel network dug behind the Hokage monuments served as a store of supplies with plenty of room to rig it into whatever was deemed necessary. Danzo had, over the years, acquired a massive stockpile of medical equipment. Many of the medications were, technically, expired - but were better than nothing. The most fresh of the supplies were spared for treating emergency and intensive cases where impotent or superpotent doses were particularly risky.

It was an odd thought; thankfully, Nagato killed most people, so when they were brought back to life, demand on medical resources was low. At least, compared to what would be expected with the village reduced to a crater. That left most of the time to pulling records from the hardened archives and transferring them to operating copies. She rounded the corner into her 'office.' "Kagome, how are the-" Haruno's voice caught in her throat.

"Greetings, Miss Haruno." The alien figure before her gave a slight bow. "It is my understanding that you treated my daughter for injuries that would most certainly have been fatal. Please forgive my neglect in expressing my gratitude."

Sakura's eyes found Kagome, who seemed to be giving her a 'see what I was putting up with while you were gone' look. "Well, I was just doing my duty - it was the least I could do." _How in the hell did he get in here?_

"Quite. My daughter would be beside herself with grief had you strained yourself." The Hyuuga seemed to eye her with indifference.

_What the hell?_ "That... Isn't what I meant, Lord Hyuuga." Sakura let a little bit of grief slip into her tone.

"Good, now that we've established not to pay attention to anything you say - perhaps you can help me with something." The Hyuuga turned, as if leading some kind of charge.

Sakura just stared, somewhat dumbfounded in a unique combination of pissed and amused. It was no wonder Tsunade hated dealing with this man. Her eyes found Kagome's, again. They screamed: "_See!?_'".

"Miss Zato, here, has been most patient with me. I understand that my presence tends to be quite taxing, and she has borne it with the best of any shinobi I have known." Hiashi said, fumbling through a small suitcase.

_God damnit... He reads minds, now?_ Sakura cursed in her head. Hiashi returned, extending a small folder toward her.

"Your expressions are quite clear for me to see, Miss Haruno. Rest assured that I do not read minds." Hiashi finished, smartly.

_... Like that is reassuring?_ Sakura grabbed the folder. "Alright, enough of the mind fuck, Hyuuga. What do you want?" She opened the folder ahead of his response. She'd been on the receiving end of a Yamanaka's competitive spirit far too often for this to work. This was her office, her domain - fuck him and whatever sadistic bullshit this was.

"Now that we are being straight with each other... I was hoping to see if there are any medical records pertaining to pregnancy for those individuals within the given time frame." The Hyuuga's eyes held a firmness to them.

"You know that I can't just give you records like that. Not without direct orders from the council or the hokage." Sakura said, flipping through the list of individuals. Immediately there was a trend, and she didn't like it.

"And I suppose it would be frivolous of me to ask for a favor." He paused, but not quick enough for either of the girls to respond. "Very well. I shall be on my way, then." Hiashi snapped his suitcase closed. "Please, forgive my intrusion." And the Hyuuga left.

Sakura watched the entry way for a few more moments, eyebrow perked, pages still flipped in her hand.

"Well, that was pretty damned weird." Kagome said, returning to some filing work she was doing.

"Yeah..." Sakura's voice faded as she looked back down at the list. "Hey, Kagome... Do you still think he's a fox?"

* * *

Hinata's sigh was lost amidst the shouts of workers and thuds of hammering. The night before and today had been, hands down, the best in her memory. She walked mostly aimlessly, not ready to go home, but not really feeling the need to be anywhere in particular. She crossed a hastily erected bridge that spanned a small creek that was making its way through the crater. Now that there wasn't a city there, it wasn't a bad spot for a lake.

The Leaf never would be the same. The blast hadn't devastated the entire village - many of the outlying structures and compounds were mostly intact - the Hyuuga compound included. Most of the city had decided to develop North (or 'left') of the Hokage monument amidst the reconstruction. Much of the southern development had been dominated by the Uchiha, which likely explained the lack of vigorous reconstruction, there.

She propped herself against a railing overlooking the crater. Not a day ago, she looked at this world as if it was alien - something foreign, even illegal. The dead should not linger past their time and meddle in affairs not of their own. But, looking out over it now... It seemed ... Natural. She could see a forest-lined lake stretching into the west with the Uchiha compound worked into a sort of historical preserve to the south. The village would stretch into the North with lights that would dance across the mirrored surface of the lake.

Hinata smiled, pushing herself up from the railing. Even if she hadn't lived, it was nice to know that something good could have come in the wake of her departure. As the sun began to arc into the late afternoon, the Uchiha compound loomed in a state of scattered shadows and luminous color. Hinata narrowed her left brow at it. There was something there to be learned. What, she didn't know... But it was time to indulge in curiosity.

* * *

The blonde made his way through the busy streets. Carts of supplies were constantly in motion, workers were busy shouting over each other, and just about anyone with anything to sell had quickly learned how to sell out of a backpack in the absence of a store-front. He'd donned a simple henge jutsu. Not only was it nearly impossible to move about as "The Hero of the Leaf," it was best that his identity be ambiguous for the time being. Jiraiya had taught him a few things about being discreet.

He wandered past the multistory apartment constructions, past the rebuilding restaurants, and rounded the new power sub-station. Naruto didn't understand much about electronics, but he did know that particular complex had come at quite the premium. One of the workers had told his shadow-clones that there really was no 'supply' of the main components. The transformers were built to order, and often on-site. It was quite a headache when one failed... Or blew up.

He stopped short of his destination. He couldn't help but give half a chuckle at how things worked. There were some things that society awkwardly prioritized. The neon light flashed back and forth in a simple animation of a girl slipping open a kimono. Some habits, as they say, die hard.

* * *

Hinata poked her head in through the double doors of the Uchiha compound. The doors opened into a cavernous hall that felt more like the lobby to a grand hotel than a family compound. By comparison, the Hyuuga entry and immediate transition into a maze of hallways was conjested.

A few shards of glass crunched under her feet. The compound hadn't escaped unscathed. An abandoned compound was understandably low on the priority list for reconstruction, but Hinata couldn't help but mourn the inevitable damage and loss of history. It was a selfish desire, she knew. The old had to yield to the new, everything was a sand sculpture in the sea of time... But she supposed it was natural to long to understand the past.

The sun hung low in the sky, casting long, oblong shadows across the compound as she explored. The courtyard used to be maintained before Pain's attack, but was quickly growing out of control. Vines threatened to climb through broken glass and leaves began to collect in corners. The telltale song of a whip-poor-will echoed through the halls as a few frogs began to sing.

The whole thing gave it an odd sense... What would have been depressing and even haunting simply seemed tranquil. From what Hinata knew of history - the Uchiha had always been very tense and wary. While their end was tragic, a peacefulness had come in its place.

The sun was now set, and the young Hyuuga was getting frustrated. What had to have been nearly two hours of picking through old studies, bedrooms, and _two_ kitchens yielded nothing but the understanding that the Uchiha were very self-important people. It was time for drastic measures as she activated her Byakugan.

She swept her consciousness through her vision. There was one spot that stood out to her - a sitting room built into a hallway junction. Narrowing her focus on it, it appeared as if there were a trap door and tunnel that lead to... She had to cycle and strain her vision to see through the odd stone construction... _A... Monument?_

That certainly seemed to be a more likely spot to learn something.

Leaving her Byakugan active, she made her way through the darkened hallway to the trap door. It was remarkably simple, and Hinata guessed that any Uchiha worth his tomoe would immediately spot the razor-thin line in the floorboards that marked it. As she made her way down into the depths, she noted that the walls were made of an unusual stone. It seemed to cloud her vision, somewhat. It wasn't impossible for the Byakugan to see through, but it certainly interfered with it. She couldn't tell for certain, but it would probably interfere with most techniques that involve chakra.

The existence and appearance of this room gave the whole "the Uchiha were a dangerous cult" conspiracy theory a lot of credence, Hinata had to admit. There was discussion among some circles that the Uchiha Massacre was some kind of inside Anbu or ROOT operation. Some of them argued that the Uchiha were planning a coupe. Others suggested the Uchiha were practicing child sacrifices. Some even argued that they had taken up Jashinism. Still others insisted the Third Hokage was suppressing political opposition or that he felt he could no longer maintain control over the Ninja clans in his old age.

Hinata entered the room at the end of the tunnel. In its center sat a tablet. The young Hyuuga approached, sharpening her vision to read the characters scribed into it.

"In the beginning, one God became two."

The words crashed and flashed through her mind. _One god became two... ONE God became TWO... _

_**ONE BECAME TWO**_

Then there was darkness.

* * *

"Just admit it, already. He's a fox." Kagome sang.

Sakura clenched her fist. Hours. Hours of digging through these records. She was pretty sure what the Hyuuga was after, and she'd be damned if he found out before her in some other way. No, she wouldn't give him records, and she damned sure wouldn't tell him anything - but this was a matter of principle. If all it took was a simple look through medical records to- "Damnit, Kagome. Are we stupid?"

Kagome's pony tail shifted off of her tilted head, lips parted halfway around a sucker. "What do you mean?" The stick bobbled as she snapped the elastic band holding her hair together. "... Wait, you mean you've been looking through Uzumaki files?"

Sakura tilted her head. "Where have you been looking?"

"Well, obviously for a misfile or something. The council may be incompetent, but Danzo was tasked with cleaning up the records of Naruto." Kagome returned to digging through records.

"... How the hell did you know that?" Sakura walked closer to her secretary.

"I took a moment to look at the access logs to the records before we left. Danzo wasn't mentioned, specifically, but many of these records have entries that simply couldn't be in here without someone having accessed them outside the log process. That pretty much means Danzo, or someone working for him." Kagome didn't break her gaze from the records.

Sakura knew there was a reason she kept Kagome around. "Okay... So Danzo has been in these records..." She huffed. "That pretty much means we're screwed."

Kagome laughed. "The one flaw in Danzo's work is that he always seems to assume other systems are as rigid and competent as his own. If someone so much as mispelled Naruto's name, it would still be in here."

"You seem to have a lot of experience with Danzo..." Sakura eyed her secretary suspiciously.

"Of course." She chirped. "My graduating thesis from high-school was on the records inconsistency following the Uchiha Clan Massacre. One of the council members was horrible at filing records and Danzo's concealment efforts missed his records entirely. While none of it was conclusive - it was obvious that the Council, and Danzo considered the Uchiha a threat." She looked up from the records. "Damned education board gave me an 'average' rating. The tabloids had a fucking blast with it, though."

Sakura squelched the memory of Sasuke. She could not yield to the temptation to get lost in remorse. "Interesting..." Sakura managed.

A few uncomfortable moments passed as Sakura joined Kagome in searching through receptionist sign-in sheets. It was the mundane stuff, Kagome insisted, that Danzo would miss.

"Hey, Sakura." Kagome started.

Yeah?" Sakura looked over.

"Can I see that list of names, again?" She reached out without looking away from the page she was staring at.

"Sure." Sakura handed Kagome the list, and her eyes darted back and forth, flipping pages in the archived file.

"Interesting. Someone signing as 'Namikaze Kushina' started signing into the maternity wing around six months before the Kyuubi attack. An Uzumaki Kushina is listed on this list, here, and the dates are a difficult coincidence to ignore." Kagome's eyes grew distant, no doubt considering the ramifications.

"There... There's no way." Sakura said. "Did the Fourth even have a wife?"

"Perhaps their union wasn't official?" Kagome offered. "Either way, it's worth following up on. The Fourth having a son ... An Uzumaki son ... Would certainly be worth keeping on the down-low."

"Yeah..." Sakura admitted. "But we should see what else there is, too."

"It's a same." Kagome sighed. "I really did hope he was a fox."

* * *

She knelt before a table, the flowing fabric of a very spacious kimono blew cool kisses in waves across her skin in the breeze wafting through the windows. A young man... Her young man... Sat across from her, his spiky hair glistened a chalky red color. She couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at how he'd grown from a helpless infant into a strong and confident young man before her very eyes. There was a beauty about mortal life, how it came, and how it passed.

"Mother, the tree shamans are most displeased with the sealing of the Holy Tree." Her son spoke, discontent obvious in his voice.

"I am sure they are, Hagoromo." She sighed. Then there was that part of mortal life.

"They say that you caused it... That I shouldn't exist... That you couldn't let father go." There was a peculiar edge to the young man's voice.

"Hagoromo..." She sighed. The accusation wasn't entirely false. "I loved... Still love... Your father. And I love both you and your brother. And this world... I love it, too. That is why I stayed."

"But if you hadn't..." The young man argued.

"Hagoromo... It isn't worth fretting over what may have happened. We can only act according to our nature and work within that." She'd spent many nights wondering what would be if she had simply ate the fruit and left, as countless before her had done. But it was pointless. She was here, she found a man she felt at peace with, and she had two beautiful children. The world wasn't perfect, but much of the fighting had ended. Hopefully, her children could spread the combined teachings of her people and those of the tree's shamans to bring about a more lasting and natural peace.

"Indeed... According to our natures..." The young man's eyes narrowed.

She perked an eyebrow. "Hagoromo... What?" - a cascade of inky symbols leapt out and around her. A cry of agony escaped her as she felt as if her very soul was being squeezed out of her.

"Embrace the power, Princess Kaguya. Return to the realm of immortals, where you belong." Hargoromo said before turning and leaving the room.

Darkness tore at the edge of her vision. She fought the sensation, cycled her chakra, clawed at the floor... But in the end, the darkness was consuming. Something... Something very important was lost.

End, Chapter 2.

* * *

I would like to thank everyone for their comments in the review section. Don't feel bad for calling me out on stuff - especially if it's to say that this is developing better than DoaF, since that's kind of why I'm doing it.

I am trying to flesh out a lot of the characters that don't get much attention in the main series, while leaving them in much the same vein as they are portrayed in what few roles they have. I'm trying to target Danzo for this, to a degree, and I'm also trying to capture a bit more of the rebuilding process of the Leaf.

Anyway, no more of my ramblings need contribute to the word count. Reviews are welcome/appreciated; thank you all and take care of yourselves.


	3. 03: Sage

Foreword:

I would, again, like to thank you all for the comments and reviews. Most of the reason I am doing a re-write is because I am substantially overhauling how things work, as many of you are likely starting to pick up on. I had, also, lost a true sense of how the war was set up and ongoing. I am still planning to include a war arc - but I will just let that develop as it comes, not try to woo you all with grandiose promises of awesome.

Those of you watching the anime are probably a little confused, especially if relying upon the regional dubs. A lot of this is based upon a theory I've been devising since the whole hand-holding scene that caused anime forums to melt down (those of you watching the subbed anime episodes just got treated to this).

It is going to be a bit on the confusing side, at first. You are supposed to second-guess your interpretation of meanings.

But enough of my rambling, here is the page-break you were looking for:

* * *

A Destiny Entwined

Chapter 3: Sage

Uzumaki sighed, allowing the plush linens to envelop him. The sweet scent of coconut wafted gently from the bathroom. The gentle patter of drops would shift to a chorus of percussion as the occupant shifted in her routine. A gentle hum brought with it the cool breath of modernized climate control across the blonde's bare chest. He dropped the urge to shiver, falling into the increasingly familiar peace of non-doing.

A small part of him noted the frequency of this behavior, but he shrugged it away. The people of the village were his charge - his responsibility. As the sensation of the village filled his being, he began sorting through them. For a village that had just been practically wiped off the map, it was a pretty damned happy place. The most gloomy seemed to be among the out of region workers. Worries of their families back home filled their hearts, a few conflicts with employers and fretting over supplies on back order.

He heard the shower stop. Metal rings screeched against their support and a few soft sploshes danced across the tile. Naruto really tried not to sense the emotions in these places. It made the whole affair easier.

Nothing felt wrong with the village... But ... Somehow he just knew there was something he was missing. He stretched farther, past the crater, into the nearly abandoned portion of the village. There was something... Off. He couldn't place his finger on it, but when his senses paid attention to that region, he felt the need to be there.

He shrugged. He really didn't need to go _there_, of all places. The Uchiha compound seemed to exist purely for his torment, and its existence could be considered fulfilled.

The bathroom door slid open, a warm light flooding from the breach in the darkness. A slender female figure, marred only by a towel, crossed the room with a practiced sway in her hips. The light glistened off of the long, dark locks of hair that hung wild about her head. "I must thank you again, Lord Uzumaki, for your most generous payment. Honestly, I feel like I am taking advantage of you."

Naruto laughed. "Do not worry about it, Ayeka. Your services are always above and beyond."

The young woman's cheeks flushed pink behind a tangle of purple hair.

Naruto felt his eyes widen before they shut, falling into the lake of emotions in the village. He almost didn't notice. Hinata's essence vexed him a bit. He didn't so much as sense Hinata as he sensed where she was - like finding a rabbit by watching the grass move - only the rabbit was a ninja that could hop miles with barely a blade being disturbed.

All of that said... He couldn't sense Hinata when logic told him he should.

* * *

She brushed her bright lockes out of her eye, stuffing the renegade strands back in their elastic band. Warmth once again washed across her face from the roiling embers in front of her. "So... Are we going to do the pork or beef, tonight, guys?"

"Well, this is a grill designed for beef..." The Nara spoke around the hand used to prop up his head.

"The pork one is sitting right here." Choji held up the round object, shifting his girth awkwardly behind the table. "I promise it wouldn't be that troublesome." The harsh glare of construction lights cut an odd contrast across his smiling face.

"Right. I don't really have a preference." Shikamaru closed his eyes, voice nearly drowning in the roar of generators.

Ino felt her face contort as she let out a huff. "Come on. This is our first night off in two weeks. This place just opened." She motioned to the cluster of grilling tables distributed around an enclosed tent. "And it beats the hell out of field rations."

"Is something eating at you, Shikamaru?" Choji nudged the young man next to him.

"Not really, I'm just tired." He yawned.

"You have to be kidding me." Ino rolled her eyes. "You spend half of our patrols staring at clouds and the other half staring at the back of your eyelids." Shikamaru's insistence upon having no preferences always baffled her. She often wondered if the guy chose what to wear each morning, or just never bothered to look beyond what lay at the top of his drawers.

"To be fair," Choji started "There is something about these lights that makes me feel tired. Everything is either too bright or too dark."

"What's the matter, Ino?" A familiar voice cracked from behind. "Feeling self-conscious about eating pork?"

Ino flexed around, staring her pink haired rival straight in the eye. "You're welcome to sit down... If you don't mind eating cows." She couldn't supress the smirk pulling at her mouth.

Sakura flopped down next to Ino. "That was a good one."

"Eh," Ino sighed. "You walked into it."

"So let's just do one plate of pork and one plate of beef, then." Choji broke in, shifting his gaze between the group.

Ino looked at Sakura, shrugged, and turned her eyes back to Choji. "Sure."

"How are things at the Hospital?" The Akamichi asked, scrubbing on the grill with a brush, his mass shifting in a jolly, welcoming manner.

"The weirdest thing happened today." Sakura shot forward, her voice rising. "Kagome has been continually badgering me with her obsession over The Hero of the Leaf and how she thinks he's a fox."

"Okay... What?" Ino interrupted. The hero worship that had broken out amongst the female populace was to be expected. But Naruto being a fox required a different category be developed.

"It's a long story - suffice to say that she's crazy." Pink hair danced in a circle about the finger swirling at Haruno's temple. "Anyway - I am on my way back from checking on the work to make the isolation ward, you know, isolated." The cave system was not originally designed for biocontainment procedures. "When I return to my office to find none other than Hiashi Hyuuga waiting for me."

Shikamaru shifted. Choji reached behind himself, grabbing the pitcher of water. "Well," Choji chuckled. "I hear that is always an experience that never disappoints."

Sakura let out a short burst of laughter. "That is one way to put it."

"Alright, kids." An older lady approached, a flower embroidered kimono hanging comfortably around her. "Have you decided on anything?" She smiled, setting a moist cloth down for each of the ninja.

"Yes Ma'am." Choji shifted in her direction. "We will have one platter of pork and one platter of beef with six colas. Oh... And an extra plate of vegetables with those platters, please."

"That I can do. I will be right out with that." The woman weaved back between the tables toward the tent.

"So," Ino turned to her pink haired friend. "About this encounter with Hiashi, I'm sure something juicy happened." No one was immune from gossip. Not even Hiashi Hyuuga.

"He asked me to divulge records to him regarding pregnancy and births." She started, unraveling the cloth to wipe her hands and brow.

"Isn't that illegal?" Choji looked up from inspecting the fine mesh grill in the center of the table while patting his cloth around his neck.

"Well, it's illegal for me to provide them." Sakura explained. "That is what I told him, and things got even more weird." The pinkette paused, continuing after there were no outbursts. "He apologized and left."

The blonde felt her brow shift. "Just like that?" Hiashi Hyuuga was not known for apologizing or leaving without what he wanted.

"Just like that." Sakura affirmed. "He left so fast that I didn't have a chance to give him back the list of people he wanted those records on."

"You didn't mention a list." Shikamaru half opened his eyes.

Butterflies danced in Ino's stomach. Hiashi Hyuuga - leader of Hyuuga Clan, had a hit list of women he wanted matternity data on. This HAD to be going somewhere good. "Well, out with it Haruno - who was on the list!?"

"Just about every Uzumaki female thought to be in Fire Country in the year leading up to the Kyuubi attack." Sakura shrugged, no doubt to mess with Ino.

"Ho-Holy shit." Ino felt her mind grind to a halt under the wave of implications. "He's trying to find Naruto's parents, isn't he?"

"Come to think of it," Choji seemed to stare off in the direction of the crater. "None of us ever stopped to think much about his parents."

"Well, yeah - but many of our friends lost parents in the Kyuubi attack." Ino studied a bolt on Choji's armor.

"True," Shikamaru grunted. "But there was a rather intense amount of contempt expressed toward that particular orphan."

"Hey, I always thought it was because he was an obnoxious jackass, growing up."

"Ino!" A sharp elbow connected with Ino's side.

"Hey, you're hardly in a position to talk, board-head. All you had to do was share some ramen with the poor guy and you would have made his week." Ino stared hard into Sakura's lowered eyes.

"I never would have suspected he had... Well... The demon fox sealed inside of him, though." Choji offered.

"Looking back, it does make a lot of sense why the older villagers hated him even more so than the other bratty rabble." Ino admitted. "So why would Hiashi be looking to find out who his parents were?"

"Think about it, Ino." Shikamaru said, his voice almost falling off of the table.

Ino took a moment... Hiashi was Hinata's father. Hinata had always been sweet on Naruto, even before it made sense to be... If he wanted to know what Naruto's lineage was... It could only mean; "Holy shit, did Hinata finally score!?"

Ino saw Shikamaru's brow tense as the sound of Sakura smacking her oversized forehead processed in her ears. It was a perfectly logical conclusion.

The woman returned, setting down large platters of raw beef and pork layered in long strips. Glasses were distributed as well as small plates to each ninja.

"I think." Choji said as he pressed against Shikamaru to reach the beef. "That he means it is odd for the Fourth Hokage to go around, stealing random children, and sealing monsters in them." He set the plate down next to the grill, assaulting the strips with a pair of shears.

"Well, I'm sure there was no shortage of orphans..." Ino said before fully processing. "Although... Where the hell would he get an infant from?" Choji set the squares of raw meat on the mesh grill.

"Exactly." Shikamaru croaked, nearly drowned out by the sound of sizzling meat.

Sakura spread some garlic chunks atop the grilling meat. "You wouldn't believe what we found when we went digging through records."

"Hold on - I thought you said that was illegal." Ino plucked a piece of garlic from the grill with her chopsticks and chomped down on it. She loved the chewy, almost sweet flavor kissed with the oils of beef.

"Hey, I'm not doing it for Hiashi. Besides - I doubt you could resist taking a look into it, yourself." Sakura spread some cabbage on an open section of the grill.

"It would be hard to ignore." Choji said as he turned each piece of beef.

"No doubt." Ino ceded. "So - what is so unbelievable about what you found?"

"Just about anything with the name 'Uzumaki' had been cleansed from the records by, we can only assume, Danzo." Sakura said.

Shikamaru snorted. "It would be more unbelievable if he hadn't."

"Hey," Ino kicked Shikamaru under the table. "Less sniping, more cooking, Nara Narcelepsy."

Shikamaru groaned, turning over a piece of cabbage with feigned effort. Sakura rolled her eyes. "We did find, though, that a Kushina Namikaze began signing in to the maternity wing before the Kyuubi attack." Ino knew her puzzled expression matched Choji's. "There is no Kushina Namikaze - but there was a Kushina Uzumaki."

"Huh." Shikamaru grunted. "Well I'll be damned... I suppose it should have been obvious from the beginning."

"Blonde hair... The Fourth's signature attack... Jiraiya's interest in him... Yeah..." Choji popped a piece of beef into his mouth from the grill.

Ino couldn't help but laugh. "I guess we had it all wrong, board-head. We were fawning over the wrong damned prince." Didn't it figure? "I guess Kagome is pretty distraught about him not being a fox."

Sakura groaned. "It didn't last long. Now she won't shut up about 'The Forsaken Prince.'"

* * *

/WC_Jalbfl68 - Two Steps From Hell; Ashes, "Fragments of Deception" If link does not show: Youtube video WC_Jalbfl68

His gut wrenched at the hollow shadows ahead of him. The moon, freshly waning, glowed eerily across the space. He would wait for sasuke here during their days as Team Seven. One of the doors to the compound set ajar, a haunting invitation if there ever was one.

The awkward feeling tickled deeper into his bones as he drew closer. "Hinata?" He called.

Only the chirping of frogs and crickets answered him. He pushed the door aside. "Hinata?"

The only answer, if it could be called an answer, was the gentle pat of water dropping through one of the skylights. He walked farther in. Long shadows cut across the walls, their wooden panels warping. "Hinata? Are you here?"

A ghostly gust of wind brushed the trees.

The blonde shifted his eyes before dashing down a hall. "Hinata!?" He yelled, throwing open the closest door. An empty study.

He shot back into the hall, legs pumping mercilessly as he threw open the next door. "Hinata!?" A... Kitchen? Who designed this place? No wonder Sasuke was crazy.

He relaxed, drawing in more nature chakra. He still couldn't sense her, but she -had- to be here. His hands fell into the final hand sign for the Shadow Clone technique. A dozen clones burst into existence. They each exchanged resolved nods, launching to different corners of the compound.

The original blonde tore into the next room, the door's hinges giving way under the assault. A wardrobe stood, locked on the other side of what he could only assume was a bedroom. A 'gentle' tug removed the handle from the wood behind it. Naruto would have none of that; smashing his fingers through the gap between the two doors and prying them apart in a shower of splinters. No Hinata.

He turned, flipping over the bed. No Hinata.

A closet door stared at him, mockingly. He tore the door away. No Hinata.

He reached deeper. He still couldn't sense her, but he could feel she felt uncomfortable, vulnerable. Male instincts took over, and Naruto simply 'stepped' through the wall of the closet, into the next room. No time was wasted in flipping over the bed, destroying the wardrobe, and exposing the closet. No Hinata.

Then the clone's memory hit him. The blonde exploded into hallway, reeling in the direction of his destination. He flickered to the ajar trap door, taking just a moment to regain his composure before spriting into the depths.

A wall made of some strange brick splintered when he slammed into it. It would have hurt like hell if he wasn't pumped full of adrenaline and nature chakra. "Ugh..." He grunted, pulling himself away from the obstruction. Whatever this stuff was, it was damned hard to sense in Sage Mode.

Hinata lay down a long, straight stretch, he knew. He rounded a couple odd bends in the tunnel before sprinting straight down another stretch he hoped was as long as he was betting.

He felt her just before he tripped over her. His foot caught her thigh, and in his attempt to not do her further damage, ended up planting his nose into the brick floor.

Pain shot through his skull and involuntary tears spalled from his eyes. The blonde quickly twisted around to where he sensed her presence. "Hinata!" He gave her a gentle shake. "Hinata!" There was no response. Her breathing sounded normal, at least.

He crouched forward, picking her up and draping her over his shoulders. "I'm getting you out of here." He tried to reassure her unconscous form. She didn't give any indication she was either concerned or comforted. Uzumaki thought for a moment. This wasn't a normal fainting spell for the Hyuuga, she needed to be taken to the Hospital.

He navigaed through the impossibly dark hallway. He moved as quickly as caution would allow - Hinata would not appreciate being turned into a giant bruise. The immediate crisis of The Missing Hyuuga resolved, his thoughts drifted to more rational thought. Just what in the hell was she doing down here, anyway?

As if in answer, the memories of the clone that found her came back to mind. In all of his experience with shadow clones, he'd never had... He wasn't sure what to call it.

* * *

/Lq2ANOkfsIA - Two Steps From Hell:Skyworld, "Skyworld" Youtube: Lq2ANOkfsIA if link does not appear.

An eerie red glow burned in the sky. Small mountains streaked from the sky, a roiling sea of embers left in their wake. Familiar figures, shrouded in boiling green energy, shot into the meteors, each mass erupting in a massive explosion. Roots of a massive tree crawled ominously across the spanse of battle.

A wave of emotion overcame him as he extended a small box in his hands. "She belongs with your people." He met a hardened stare from a Byakugan. "Keep her safe."

"We will guard her with our life, Noble Sage." The man said, taking the box.

"Just remember." He said, looking far off at the blooming tree. "As this is the time to receive her, there will come a time to let her go."

"I understand." The man said, handing the box to a squad that sprinted away. "You will be handling the sealing, then."

"I will." He edged confidence in his voice.

"I can understand why she stayed for you." The man turned, before rotating back. "It has been an honor." He bowed. "May your actions bring redemption upon your people, Lord Uzumaki."

He felt himself chuckle. "I appreciate the confidence." He turned to watch as the figures who shattered the meteors returned, shearing off a spanse of crawling roots. "But redemption... For any of us... Is a long way off."

He strode forward. "First Squad - On me!" He bellowed. "Squad Two, on our left flank. Squad Three - take our right. The rest of you just keep those damned meteors in check." A chorus of affimations came back in reply.

_So, this is it..._ He leapt into the air, allowing himself to fall into the tide of energy around him. He called to the spirit of the dragon, feeling it answer and flow through him. As he fell deeper into the tide, he became nothing but the dragon. Its eyes were his eyes, its legs were his legs, its legs were his legs. All he did was give purpose to the roiling mass of nature that enveloped him.

That purpose was simple: At all costs, to stop his beloved Kaguya-Hime.

* * *

Shizune sighed, scribbling some notes down next to a flow chart she was reviewing. The history and lab report were fairly conclusive; polycystic kidney disease resulting in chronic renal failure. The poor girl was just dealt a crappy card in her genetics. Treatment was possible, but it would eventually get to the point where her kidneys produced no urine and her body literally died in its own liquid waste.

On the plus side, there was ample time to search for a donor at her rate of decline.

The Fifth's aide heard the door to the medical wing slam open. "Hey, I need some help, here!" A familiar voice bellowed. The night always went by faster when this guy got involved.

Shizune ducked out of the corner that had become her office, seeing a nurse already rushing over to the familiar blonde ninja. Her gaze did a double-take at the Hyuuga heiress slung across his shoulders. Konoha's Unpredictable Ninja just struck again. She hurried closer.

"Naruto... What happened?" Shizune asked as the nurse ushered the blonde to lay the girl down on a nearby table.

"I don't know. She was fine earlier today, then I found her passed out in this crazy secret tunnel in the Uchiha compound." Shizune noticed he kept a firm hold on her hand.

The Fifth's aide took a few moments to process that. She set aside the obvious questions, probing for the more medically relevant ones. "Did you notice any kind of unusual odors?"

"Not really." The blonde looked up.

"No darts, needles, spikes - anything that looked like she sprung a trap?" She probed.

"Not that I saw... But it was pretty dark down there." He looked down at the floor.

Shizune put her hand over the Hyuuga's head. The chakra circulation felt normal enough. "It doesn't appear to be a genjutsu... You didn't mention anyone else being around?"

"I don't know how long she was there." He looked over at her. "But I was the only one there, and it didn't seem like anyone else had been around."

She eyed the tears in his clothing and the plaster dashed across his skin. "So then what's with the White Face getup?"

"Oh..." He cast a quick glance at his shoulder. "I guess I kind of got a little carried away when I couldn't find her at first."

So the Uchiha compound was probably a pile of rubble. Shizune suppressed a snicker at what kind of council meeting Danzo would wake up to. "Alright. We'll do a simple blood draw and screen for common poisons. She'll be under observation until she wakes up." Shizune turned and walked toward the supply cart.

"Uh..." She heard the blonde add, an edge of uncertainty in his voice.

"Is there something more?" Shizune turned around.

"I was kinda wondering if it would be alright if I stay with her." He scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"Aww..." She couldn't help but fawn over the blonde's behavior. "Of course you can." It was about damned time the dolt started to gravitate toward the girl.

* * *

Danzo perked an eyebrow at the report on his desk. He was beginning to understand why Naruto was called the unpredictable Ninja. The Root operative assigned to trailing Naruto lost track of the blonde about two hours after what normal people would interpret to be a date between he and the Hyuuga girl.

That was another situation that bore more investigation.

Apparently, however, Naruto didn't see things the way normal people saw them - or Danzo was missing some critical information. The blonde was next seen about two hours after sunset, dashing from a whore house. Given his instruction under Jiraiya, it made some sense. As far as Danzo knew, however, this was a new behavior from the Jinchuriki.

That _required_ more investigation.

Then the kid went on a crazy rampage through the Uchiha compound before emerging with an unconscious Hyuuga heiress draped over his shoulders.

Danzo was stumped. Hopefully the follow-up his operatives were conducting would clarify something... Anything.

As if that wasn't enough, it appeared as if Hiashi was sniffing around the Uzumaki's lineage. He was sure the visit with the Nara had something to do with it - but damned if he had any proof. It seemed he managed to plant the seed of interest in the Haruno girl, and her damned secretary nailed it. That girl had some nerve. She seemed to live for the purpose of complicating his life. First she writes that report revealing the Council's suspicions and contingency plans on the Uchiha... Now she is about to blow the whole lid off of Naruto's lineage.

Then, just for good measure, the Haruno blabbed to the Yamanaka Heiress. So the situation went from 'not existing' to critical mass literally overnight.

Sure, they had no proof... But once the discussion reached the open ranks and droves of people began digging into the possibility of both of their blonde, Rasengan-wielding heroes... Proof would either be found or completely unnecessary. Keeping something so blatantly obvious a secret was a fragile art.

Convincing the Third Hokage to keep his lineage a secret had been a hard sell to begin with. The argument that no one should speak of the Kyuubi sealed in the boy was easy enough - Sarutobi was already leaning that way to begin with, since he knew the children would react harshly. Realistically - that was going to happen, anyway, but the boy would practically walk into the Third's place as Hokage if his lineage were openly known.

Which was the current dilema he was faced with. Naruto had the popular support Kakashi and Danzo could only dream of. The knowledge that he was the son of the Fourth would turn him into an unstopable political force.

And if something came of this sudden fascination with the Hyuuga girl?

At that point, the kid woulnd't even need the title of Hokage. If he moved all the way to Snow Country, the Village Hidden in the Leaves would become the Village Hidden in the Snowy Pines as it moved with him.

Danzo sighed, looking at his bandaged arm. He'd given... And taken... A lot in his quest to do what he felt would best protect the village. He couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy for the blonde. Without asking anything in return - the boy gave everything he had for the village, for people who scorned and hated him.

The boy had managed to seed the growing relationship between Fire and Wind countries through his odd relationship with the Kazekage. Reports were coming in that the Hidden Rain was internally discussing seeking trade with the Hidden Leaf. Wave was flourishing after the elimination of Gato. Representatives from these nations spoke of Naruto by name.

And Danzo?

What little he could claim would probably never be known. Other things... He wished he couldn't claim.

Perhaps he was holding on too tight to goals to see solutions. Naruto wouldn't be bad for the Leaf. Not in principle, anyway. But he was still young and had much to learn.

There was a knock. "Lord Hokage, the Council has called a meeting."

"No doubt." He grunted. "I will be with them in a moment." He raised with practiced effort. There would be time for speculation and planning later. More old men and their vision-obscuring goals required attention.

* * *

A twitch in his hand coaxed him from a slumber he didn't realize had overtaken him. Naruto woke to see a trail of drool stringing from his mouth, hanging between his legs. He rolled with the first solution to cross his mind; mash his mouth into his sleeve.

A soft moan drew his gaze to the bed next to him. The Hyuuga rolled, pulling awkwardly at his hand.

"Hinata..." He almost whispered. "Hey, can you hear me?"

There was a pause. "N-Naruto?" She rolled back around, eyes fluttering against sleep.

"Hey!" He felt his face explode in a smile. "You had me worried." He noticed her swallow awkwardly. "Uh... Here" the blonde produced a small cup of water.

Hinata gently took the cup from his hand, propping awkwardly on her side to sip from it. "Thank you." She rasped between pants.

"You're welcome," A warmth overtook the blonde. The way her eyes were still partially lidded, the way her hair fell across her shoulders, the meekness of her state... Every instinct in his bones wanted to wrap around the girl in front of him, to protect and secure her. "How are you feeling?"

"My head is throbbing a bit." The Hyuuga squinted her eyes.

"Here." Naruto nudged for her to lay back down, and she complied. "This always helped when I had a headache." He placed two fingers on each of her temples and began massaging in small circles. You didn't train with Sasuke Uchiha and his sharingan without picking up a few tricks in dealing with headaches.

The girl beneath him giggled. "That is how I used to deal with the headaches Kurenai's ... Training ... Would leave us with."

"Oh yeah... She is pretty good at Genjutsu, isn't she?" Naruto mused. Some believed she could easily give Itachi a run for his money. Having first hand experience with Itachi, he thought it was a shuriken-to-kunai comparison... But whatever.

"Rule number one about Kurenai's training. Do not talk about Kurenai's training." The Hyuuga said in a monotone voice.

"Uh..." Naruto froze. Even Kakashi wasn't that bad.

"I'm joking." She giggled, again. "Though there was one time I spent two months in one of her genjutsu."

Naruto's jaw dropped and he broke his massaging rythm. "Two months?"

Hinata nodded. "Every night for two months I had the same dream about trying to ..." She paused for a moment, "to find my clothes." She blushed.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "I hate those dreams." He resumed massaging. "And I'm always trying to get them from the weirdest places." He looked away for a moment. "Like this one time, all I needed to do in order to get my clothes was get to Ichiraku's. It made perfect sense then, but not now that I'm awake."

The girl was shaking with laugher. "I did have a weird dream, though." She sighed.

"What about?" Naruto sat back down.

"I'm... I'm not sure." She stared up at the ceiling. "It was almost like a memory. Or a vision... I'm not sure which." He found her hand. "There was a young man with eyes like Pain's... I called him Hagoromo, and though of him as my son. He was upset - I could feel his confusion and anger. There was something about a tree before he used some kind of a sealing technique, saying that I should return to where I belonged."

"Hmm..." Naruto reflected back on his clone's memory. "The clone that found you returned to me with..." He thought of how to describe it. "An extra memory. I'm honestly not sure what was going on, but there was a giant tree - and the Hyuuga were there." Hinata perked a brow at him. "There were other people using... A different type of sage mode. It was sage mode... But entirely different. There was someone I had to stop... Someone I cared about."

Hinata simply squeezed his hand. "Oh, and there was a box that I gave to the guy with the Byakugan. I have no idea what was in it, but it hurt to let it go."

Naruto heard a fluttering of cloth behind him. He noticed Hinata turn to look with him, but there seemed to be nothing there.

"Thank you..." The Hyuuga blushed. "For finding me."

Naruto felt some heat rise to his cheeks. "Well, you know... Can I ask you what you were doing down there?"

The Hyuuga's cheeks turned pink. "I just was curious, I guess. I saw the old compound and it just felt like the thing to do. Then I found the trap door and that strange tunnel. But then the tablet..."

"Tablet?" Naruto perked a brow. Then he laughed at himself. "It was so dark down there that I couldn't see anything."

"There was a tablet in... I guess it was a shrine room." She said. "I remember looking at it... The weird dream, and then waking up here."

"Do you think we should go back, with Shikamaru or someone?" Naruto straightened.

"I ... I don't know." She sighed. "We should report it to the Hokage, though. The whole thing was kind of... Creepy."

* * *

Danzo lowered himself into his chair with practiced difficulty. It wasn't hard to not want to sit in the chair.

"Just what in the hell are your ninja doing, now, _Lord Hokage_?" The old voice cut through the air.

And that was why. Danzo cast a gaze around the room. The civilian council varied. It wasn't entirely official, but it wasn't without power. Business owners representing coalitions, wealthy donors, trade union representatives, merchants who happened to be in town - they all comprised what was loosely referred to as 'the civilian council.' While they had no official authority over the village, they had the practical authority to make things happen, or make them a pain in the ass.

The representatives of the various Ninja clans did hold a more official authority, and were generally what was referred to as the 'core' of the civilian council. "I am launching an investigation into the events. I will not comment on the incident last night until it has concluded."

The door on the far wall slid open, and a one Hiashi Hyuuga stepped through. "I apologize, I was tending to family matters." He sat at an open seat.

"Hiashi" A middle aged woman, Danzo recognized to represent the many seamstresses and textile industries, "Rumor has it that your daughter was involved in last night's events at the Uchiha compound."

"Well, it was obviously the _Hero_ of the leaf who decided to level nearly half of the Uchiha compound." Another woman spoke up.

"You mean the fourth's son?" Another voice shot from the corner.

"That is just hero worship spreading amongst the impressionable young girls." Another chastized.

"I overheard the Haruno girl talking about it at that new barbeque place last night!" Danzo recognized a heavy set merchant as the origin.

Danzo felt a gentle nudge come from his right. He turned to see a smiling Nara. "Well, this is getting fun to watch." Shikaku turned back.

The bantering quickly became a countless number of side-conversations in a cacophony of chatter with occasional shouts and insults hurled across the tables.

"**ENOUGH!**" Hiashi bellowed. Even Danzo had to admit the outburst caught him off guard. "Rumors are rumors. Let us all be responsible adults and make sure we have our facts straight. I will not speak for my daughter on such short notice, and I am sure there there is much each of us must do before our eloquent discussions can be of much practical use." He cast a gaze around, seeking a contest. "But since we are here, I was just in the medical ward and am curious to hear what the moderate term plan is for providing our needs for a medical facility."

Shikaku cleared his throat. "I believe the plan, so far, has been to leave the hospital in its current hardened location until proper walls and barriers can be restored."

"While I can see how that makes sense for the leaf's ninja," A representative for the construction workers broke in. "It has become a bit of an issue for our workers. Would it be possible to staff a tent, or something, for minor injuries near the work sites?"

Danzo had supported the idea of separate medical facilities for ninja and general populace for some time. "I believe that is a reasonable request."

"Reasonable?" Shizune stood up from her chair. "One third of our medical corps is detached to our long range patrol network. Visits are up a full two hundred percent and our mission demand just went up over three hundred." She sat back down, closing her eyes for a moment. "I agree it would be a better situation for the workers, but we just don't have the staff to split between two facilities."

"If the council would permit it," the merchant spoke up. "There are a number of medical professionals who have traveled here with the workers. They do not currently have licenses for this region, but the workers trust them." _The voice of reason._ Danzo mused. For decades, the budget had been slammed with demands for the Leaf's medical corps to patch up anything and everything that walked through the gate. Meanwhile, only medical ninja could become licensed practitioners in the Leaf... Which meant the number of professionals was always insufficient.

"There are also a number of promising individuals who are not adept at using chakra who have been declined the opportunity to put their skills to work for the Leaf." One of the civilian educators spoke up.

And so the discussion continued. Non-Ninja would be allowed to treat injuries and diagnose the civilian population. It would be subject to standard sales tax. And it only took three hours.

* * *

He let out a low growl. "What's taking the old bat so long?" Naruto ground his foot into the ground. It was bad enough when he had to worry about Granny and her drunken mood-swings. Now this ass hat, who just decided he was Hokage, was never in his damned office.

"Naruto..." The soft voice smoothed what would be ruffled fur. "The Hokage has a lot on his plate, right now."

"I don't care how much he gets to eat. Why isn't he here?" He flopped back down in the chair.

Naruto could have sworn Hinata started to giggle. "I meant that he has many things to do. The village is going through a lot of change."

"Yeah... I guess." He found that he had leaned up against her. At first, the sensation of being in contact with another person was uncomfortable. He didn't have many people to have contact with - being beaten by villagers didn't exactly count as 'contact' in this sense. But he'd quickly become addicted to just the simple feeling of having Hinata's arm against his.

A wooden crutch crunched into the dirt before prying back the canvas flap. Naruto felt the anger pool in his stomach at seeing this ... Imposter duck into the tent. His eye fell lazily over the two.

"Well." He said, flatly. "That saves the anbu a trip." He smiled. "Please do not make a habit of lingering in my office. "

Naruto simply growled. "This is Tsunade's office." He'd never once liked this man. He would keep a shadow clone here at all times, if he had to, just to piss this abomination in front of him off. And the pranks... Oh, the pranks... He didn't have a clue what he would do, just yet, but there was plenty of time for a hundred of him to brood on the subject.

A soft touch on his arm caused him to look back. He found Hinata's eyes fixed on him with concern.

"Alright. I do not have to argue semantics with you, Uzumaki." He sat behind his desk. "Some changes we like. Some changes we don't - but change happens. Which brings me to the changes made to the Uchiha compound. I hope you two are here to explain what that was all about."

"If we aren't?" Naruto growled. He felt Hinata gently brush across his back. Naruto's muscles instantly reacted, tightening to pull his back away from the tickle that didn't feel at all like a tickle.

"Lord Hokage, I must accept responsibility." Hinata turned to face Danzo, both hands in her lap. Naruto felt his back arch involuntarily again. His back was convinced there was some tickle-monster hidden in his chair that needed to be evaded at all costs.

"Explain." Danzo seemed to perk an eyebrow at the blonde.

Naruto's back continued to evade contact with so much as his shirt throughout Hinata's explanation of wandering through the Uchiha compound and stumbling upon the tablet. He scooted away from the back of his chair, and still his back would spasm. He shifted sideways, and his back still arched in spasms. He growled in frustration. He couldn't figure out if Hinata did that intentionally, or not... Or if she did anything at all.

"That... Is interesting." Danzo's brow narrowed. "I will have the Anbu investigate the chamber you described. Until then, I think it would be best for you two to avoid it." Naruto opened his mouth to protesst, but Danzo cut him off. "Just until we can make sure it is not dangerous, for all we know, Lady Hyuuga narrowly avoided some variety of trap." Naruto stilled. "But I still do not see how Lady Hyuuga is responsible for the destruction." His gaze fell on Naruto.

Naruto did his best to explain how he could sense Hinata's absence, the awkwardness of the Uchiha compound and the desperate frenzy to find her. The most difficult part of the whole thing was reading Danzo... The man may as well have been an oil painting. "I... Guess I did get a little carried away." Naruto admitted, at the end.

Danzo sighed, staring down at some paperwork. "Bluntly, the Uchiha compound has been a drain on our resources and would probably not have been able to be saved after the exposure it suffered after Pain's attack. As far as I'm concerned, you stopped short of what should have been done a long time ago." Naruto's mind was racing to keep up with the unexpected response. "Further, we Ninja face a wide variety of threats that come in ways we can rarely anticipate. I will not pretend to have this 'sage sense,' nor will I tell you how to interpret its meaning. You were not unreasonable in assuming there was a threat to Lady Hyuuga and acting with haste."

Naruto couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Something nasty just had to be coming his direction. "It is unfortunate that the civilians do not always understand our perspective." Danzo continued. "What they see was an exceptionally reckless search party. They don't live in a world where someone who is missing is very likely captured or dead. Nor do they live in a world where enemies are continually developing ways to kill and capture them without drawing attention."

"I could sit here," Danzo continued. "And condemn your actions as needlessly destructive and unwarranted. But people such as Kabuto have struck from within our secure zones, before. It would be reckless of me to punish you to appease the council. We are ninja. When you believe there is a threat to your comrade or this village - you must act without concern for the politics of old men. Buildings can be rebuilt. Knowledge can be rediscovered." Naruto's mind filled in the blank; _people can only be remembered._

"I... Uh..." Naruto coulnd't really find a response.

"I know that is not the response you were expecting." Danzo interrupted. "I will send for you two, again, once the Anbu have completed their report. I suspect there will be a lot more to discuss about this as time goes on. In the mean time, your graduating class has been placed in the reserve rotation for the next two days. Use your time wisely, as you will all be embarking on a long distance mission before the week is up. You will learn more when I give the briefing." Danzo looked between the two teens. "You two are dismissed, unless you have more business to discuss."

Naruto shared a look with Hinata. She stood, and both stepped out of the tent. Naruto squinted against the sun as they passed a roaring generator. "That was weird."

"I ... Think I have a new perspective on what my father has said in regards to Danzo." Hinata stopped to watch a butterfly.

"I was expecting... Harsh and cold." Naruto admitted.

"I think..." Hinata paused. "I think he is just very dedicated to keeping us ready for war." She brushed at a strand of hair. "I think he struggles with the idea of Ninjas as tools and Ninjas as people."

Naruto let his mind zone out for a moment. He knew someone like that. "Hey... Hinata, did I ever tell you about Zabuza and Haku?"

* * *

Hiashi sat in meditation, the family portrait in front of him. What the Uzumaki boy had mentioned... It was beyond comprehension.

There had been a box, passed down through the Hyuuga head branch for generations upon generations. Its exact origins were lost to time. It was said to hold the purpose of the Hyuuga clan and to have been a gift inherited with the cursed seal.

Hiahsi never knew what to make of the stone box, viewing it with both skepticism and awe. It stood out from the Hyuuga, having six inscribed circles forming concentric rings on the cover. Depictions of chains covered the surface and there was a meditating androgenous figure with six arms.

That box was shattered during the Kyuubi attack, in the hands of his wife, three months before Hinata was born.

* * *

Afterword:

I admit that I seriously debated the scene in the hospital. After a scene in Dynamics of A Fututure... I realized that having characters completely recount events in full dialogue is needlessly tedious, because the reader already knows as is not really learning anything new. Those of you coming from Dynamics of A Future probably know which one I'm talking about, too - "Hey, I'll have Naruto tell Mito about -everything- we already know. That is a good way to keep the word count up!"

But I let this one fly because it does actually give a better view of how Hinata and Naruto interpreted their experience - and was short enough to allow for that.

I'm especially curious to hear from people regarding that decision of mine.

Speaking of which - I do not currently utilize a beta. I am not opposed to having one - so if you are interested, let me know. That said - it is not like I am stopping the show to look for one, either.

Anyway - I would greatly appreciate the reviews (good, bad, they all make that number bigger :P ).


	4. 04: Seal

Foreword:

In case you are wondering - yes, you are supposed to be slightly confused. There are supposed to be unanswered questions and peculiarities that provoke investigation. I try to keep enough information present in the story for everyone to figure out what is going on before it's explained - but those of you working from the anime (particularly the dub) are admitedly at a disadvantage. It is generally safe to assume that everything has a deeper meaning and tie-in.

Part of what irritates me about Kishimoto's work on Naruto is that he introduces far too many concepts by just dropping it your lap with few hints to ease the plot into it. "Surprise! It's a tree! Now here's a monologue with two chapters of flashbacks to explain how that makes sense."

I will try to avoid doing that. The goal is that any 'revelation' should have been there all along, just waiting for someone to assemble the pieces.

I must break back in here to give a... I believe the popular term is 'shout out' to **Dominator046:**

I appreciate such a detailed and thought out review. I would contend, though, that much of the imagery is an expression of your own mind. If I did anything - it was to trigger your vast imagination.

My mother's side of the family was gifted with folk tales and telling all varieties of stories around the fire at family reunions (we had camp-outs for reunions). I think the art of story-telling in folk-tale and in novel forms are very similar. It wasn't important to give exacting detail or even very descriptive recountings. Through simple actions, shifts in tone, and key expressions - a line of 'dots' was created for the audience to connect with.

Novels limit the interaction but expand the scope of the scene. Dialogue can be more fully and naturally explored while also allowing for more scenes and perspectives.

Of course, it also helps that I had a total of three typing classes over the course of schooling. It was a required course for me in the beginning of sixth grade (waaaay back in 2000 - and I had a keyboard nazi for an instructor - took the delete key off of the keyboard and force us to use blinders). Then I moved to a new school district, and thought that if I took the keyboarding/computer applications course in middle school, I would be able to go onto bigger and better things in High School without having to take another keyboarding course.

And the joke was on me. So I had to take yet another keyboarding course. For a total of three.

I type almost faster than I can think - so I can churn out 2000 words in an hour without realizing it. As such - most of these stories are somewhat raw, much of the content being a first or arguably second draft. I've gravitated away from writing stories down before typing them, but I might return to it - particularly to get around writer's block. There is just something different about the process of writing when it is done by hand - sometimes it produces better results, other times it seems to lack the same effect.

Either way - I appreciate your review.

Well - I appreciate everyone's reviews - and I admit I am horrible about being sociable with readers; but I did think that your reivew in particular merited a direct public response.

Now for my Jedi Mind Trick: This is the page-break you've been looking for.

* * *

Chapter 4: Seal

He roared through the skies, held aloft by the swirling mass of natural chakra around him. A streak of green shot ahead of him, striking the small mountain falling from the sky. The streak blossomed into a massive shockwave, vaporizing a large portion of the rock. A few smaller meteors trailing in its wake punched through the thinning veil of energy. He maneuvered between them, dashing, weaving, clawing against the very fabric of the sky.

He could sense it ahead of him, his goal. He streaked nearly straight down, dipping and rising over the roots of the tree that sprang forth, starving for the conduit of chakra. A plateu, his destination, overlooked the forest of erupting roots. The dragon slammed against the side, clawing in a slithering motion up the side of the plateu; a predator pursuing its prey.

The sage vaulted over the summit, feeling that he had arrived at just the right moment as a set of needles embedded themselves in the dragon's cloak of chakra.

"Welcome, Beloved." The woman's long, silver hair billowed behind the pale stare of her Byakugan. "I was just disciplining our son for desecrating my sanctuary."

The chakra around the Sage settled, retreating from the visible world. "Hagoromo," His voice held back unspeakable rage. "Have you not learned anything?"

"Father - I was only..." The young man scrambled to his feet, the multiple rings in his eyes focused on the ground.

The sage growled a sigh. "Such is your nature." The sage never once took his eyes off of the woman in front of him. "I will tell you that you are walking a path that leads only to suffering, but you always have been the type to learn things the hard way." The boy began to sputter a response, but the Sage held up his hand. "You'll learn. You're doing it the hard way, but you'll learn." He assured the boy he knew to be his son.

"Oh, Beloved." The woman almost sang. "You know that to be untrue." She stretched her arms out. "Even now, half of them dream of conquest and war. Even after the power of the Fruit could be used to end their ability to war against each other - they began to turn their daggers toward the one who protected them."

"Kaguya... You and I both know you are not whole." He kept himself between the pacing woman and his son.

"And just what is the difference?" She leered at him. "I have endured so much... And _ALL _of the indignant bastards only seek to take what is rightfully mine!" The Sage almost swore he saw a tear in her eye - an echo of what was lost - a ghost of what truly bound her to the planet. "These cretons want to kill?" She pointed to the overgrown pods encasing most of the world's human population. "Then I'll have them kill the self-righteous fools of my homeland!" Her eyes were wild for a brief moment before returning to an emotionless neturality.

God... How he wished he could comfort her. But destiny, it appeared, would not permit him such simple luxuries. He kept his body agled on her. He needed a bit more time. "And what, then? Will we be left alone with the murderer of our friends and family?"

The woman's brow perked before narrowing. "I don't understand how choosing between the murderer who spared you and the murderers who have yet to betray you is much of a dilema."

The Sage straightened. "Perhaps it is time to fulfil a new destiny." He walked closer to the woman. "For a thousand years, let us be together." He walked within an arm length of her, spreading his arms slightly. "You can finally have everything you want."

Honestly, the Sage thought he would feel a bit more. Sure, there was a sharp pain, but some kind of shock or adrenaline must have blunted it pretty quick. He looked down at the hand through his heart. "Did you think-" She stopped.

Symbols crawled out from the gaping wound. "We both knew this would happen." He said, musing at the blood coating his lips. It made them unusually slippery. "I gave you my word." He gasped. "Even if it takes a thousand years, I will dry your tears and bring laughter to your lips."

A second sensation drew his attention to his beloved's chest. One of Hagoromo's rods impaled him through the right lung bfore puncturing her through the heart and lay embedded in a stone tablet. Some things never changed.

Kaguya laughed, splotches of red falling across her white kimono. "Hagoromo... Did you really think you outfoxed your father?"

The world faded into darkness with a heart-rending smile on his symbol-ridden face. A thousand years of death awaited.

* * *

The blonde woke with a start.

Naruto shifted his eyes around, seeing his own tent. "Damn these weird visions." He said, aloud. "Why do they have to feel so real?"

The lady with the Byakugan, the one his visions called Kaguya... Somehow, he felt bad for her. He really didn't know what to make of the vision, at all. Was this woman real? ... And Hagoromo... His eyes held the Rinnegan and he used an ability similar to Pain.

Naruto scrubbed his head with a growl. Or maybe he was insane.

Then it hit him. "Hinata mentioned a guy named Hagoromo in her dream..." Was his mind just playing tricks on him - playing off of her dream?

He groaned, pulling himself out of bed. First a shower. Then breakfast... His stomach groweld.

First breakfast, then a shower. He tossed his shower kit back toward the corner of the tent. He simply threw on an undershirt and ducked out of his tent. The sun was cresting over the distant hills, and he took a moment to squint at it through the pastel clouds. He needed to talk to Hinata about this dream... Vision... Whatever it was.

He turned, heading for the meal tent a few dozen meters away. It didn't take long for him to run into familiar faces.

"Nara Narcelepsy" A voice sang. "GET THE HELL OUT OF BED!" Naruto cringed, looking toward the scene.

Which turned out to be quite comical. He turned just in time to see Ino duck into a tent. "Damnit, Shikamaru!" She cursed from inside the tent. "We only have a couple. Days. Off." She grunted with sounds of sliding. "And you are. NOT. Sleeping. It. Away." The girl heaved; dragging the notorious Nara, packaged comfortably in his bedroll, out into daylight. Choji sat off to the side, an amused grin on his face.

Naruto shook his head with a laugh, walking toward the trio. "Alright... Sheesh." Shikamaru could be heard as he rolled over. "I'll get dressed as soon as you drag me back in so that I can."

The buxom blonde simply perked an eyebrow at him, placing her hands on her hips. Naruto stood on the edge of the disagreement, content to observe his friends through an unyielding contest of disobedience.

It was Ino who finally compromised, huffing as she ducked inside Shikamaru's tent. "Here." She growled as she emerged. A wad of billowing cloth sailed through the air and landed atop the Nara's head.

"I'm naked under here, you know." Shikamaru grumbled.

"You're a genius." She dismissed with a wave of the hand, walking toward Naruto. "You'll figure it out." She stopped next to Choji. "Or maybe you could just give the Hero of the Leaf a show."

Shikamaru grumbled, pulling the clothes from his face as he began to writhe within his bedroll.

"Good morning, Naruto" Choji turned, a warm smile on his face. "How have you been, lately?"

"'Morning guys." The blonde yawned. He thought about how to actually answer the question. "I've gotten a lot to think about lately, but okay for the most part. I was just going to grab some breakfast." He motioned toward the spaceous tent ahead.

"Great!" Ino seemed to second-guess her outburst. "If you don't mind waiting on Princess Pineapple, we'll join you." She glared back around at the Nara, worming his way into his pants.

"Sure, that sounds alright." Naruto smiled. Seeing his friends like this reminded him of when Team Seven used to be together. For a long time, it used to hurt; seeing something so reminiscent of what he lost. It would hurt to see others so happy when he was so miserable. He knew it was unreasonable, but a part of him felt as if they were mocking him.

Of course, they weren't. With time, he came to hold to moments like these. This is what he would work himself to the bone for - so that his friends could snipe and snark at each other in fun; that they never had to mourn the loss of their precious people and continue to make new memories with them.

"Hey, Naruto." Shikamaru said as they sat down to the table. "You have been pretty quiet this whole time."

"I've just been... Thinking." Naruto said. He had barely noticed the trip through the line, much less the walk to the tent.

"Really?" Choji said between bites. "What about?" He downed a piece of melon.

"Just how great it is to have a team." The blonde admitted.

"Speaking of teams..." Ino started, a devious smile crept across her face. "I hear you and Hinata have been spending a lot of time together."

Naruto felt a bit of heat rise to his cheeks. "Well... I never would have thought she was so amazing to be around." He sighed "I mean - I didn't think she would be horrible to be around... But I guess I never expected her to be so ..." He couldn't think of a word. He always found himself listening when she spoke. He always found himself watching her when she was around. She always got the cutest pout on her face when she made a mistake or was frustrated. Even the worst pain imaginable was worth it to see her smile.

"-ruto. Hey, Naruto." Choji stirred the bowl of Ramen in front of Naruto. "You just kind of stopped."

"Oh." Naruto honestly had no idea how to behave. "Sorry. I guess I kind of zoned out, there."

"Are you feeling okay?" Choji eyed him suspiciously. "A Ninja can't think on Ramen, alone, Naruto."

"Not everything has to do with food, Choji." Shikamaru yawned.

"Perhaps not." The well fed young man held his chopsticks in contemplation. "But everything can be solved with food."

Ino sighed. "It's a shame not everyone knows how to cook." She narroed an eyebrow. "So, tell me." Ino paused. "What prompted all of this special attention for Hinata?"

Naruto paused for a moment. "I don't know what you mean by special..." Of course it was special; time with any of his friends was special.

"The way I hear it." Choji interrupted from behind a bowl full of rice. "Hinata gave a blazing confession of love when she stood in front of Pain." He set the bowl down. "Sorry, I guess I should have put that more tactfully."

Naruto felt Ino's eyes burning a hole into his mind. He had no doubt that she would do anything it took to know if that was the truth... And being a Yamanaka, that meant giving in to the temptation to use forbidden, mind-shattering jutsu surrounded by legends of terror. There were some things about that memory that he didn't want to think about, much less talk about. Bu... There were others...

"She really was pretty amazing!" Naruto felt the excitement rise in his voice, remembering how she acted with such confidence. "I really did think I was a gonner - and then out of nowhere - Hinata shows up and blasts a hole in the ground where Pain was standing!"

Ino simply stared at him with a smile he couldn't place. "Wow, it sounds like she was pretty determined." There was a tone in her voice, again, that Naruto couldn't place.

Not that it mattered. "Huh..." a thought occurred to him. "Now that I think about it... She said that she would not let him hurt me anymore." He ran through the events again in his mind. "He didn't even land a punch on me after that." He wasn't quite sure what to do with that revelation, but it seemed significant, somehow; so he shelved it. "She said that I was the one who showed her how to never give up and to show others kindness even through hardship. That's why she wasn't afraid to..." He trailed off.

He could still see the trickle of blood from under the broken clay. Losing Jiraiya hurt in a way he couldn't describe. He was sure it would have been a different kind of pain if he actually saw it happen. But there was something that hit deeper. Jiraiya had been strong, independent. As had Haku and Zabuza. They lost their lives doing a job they had sworn to do to protect those precious to them.

Sure, Hinata was strong, and she had sworn to do much the same thing... But... There was something about losing Hinata that made him feel as if he'd lost everything. He could not source anything specific about that feeling - it wasn't like the feeling of losing Sasuke, where he could point to things that made Sasuke important to him.

"...oing it again." Ino interrupted his thoughts. "Are you sure you're okay?" She perked an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah... Just remembering some things." He looked down at what remained of his food. Far more than he usually left, and he was not hungry in the slightest. "I think I am going to go take a shower."

"Alright... Well just be careful. If you fall any harder, you just might break the sound-barrier." Ino waved in a playful manner.

Uzumaki just quirked his brow as he stood. "Uh, I'm standing, right?" A thought hit him. "I'm not in another Genjutsu, am I?" He passed a skeptical eye across his surroundings.

"Good grief." Shikamaru laughed.

"Well, that is one way to look at it." Ino giggled, twirling some clear noodles on her plate. "And only Hinata can release you from it."

Naruto was flabbergasted. "But why would she do such a thing? Wait... What kind of genjutsu is it?"

Shikamaru just curled into himself, undoubtedly his way of hiding hysterical laughter. A quick glance toward Ino revealed her laughter had been replaced by a devilish grin.

"Don't mind them." Choji stacked a newly empty bowl into the old empty one. "Just go take your shower."

* * *

Hinata turned back around to view the distant Leaf Village. Even more than three kilometers from the village's edge, the sounds of construction could be heard as dull clanks and thuds stretched across the air. She turned back around. Her destination lay not too far ahead.

The area was thick with cedar trees. It was an ancient area of the forest and legends were told of vengeful spirits who lived inside the trees. Perhaps more interesting were the tales of shamans who, up until a few hundred years ago, used to pass through the area. According to one ancient account, those shaman traced their lineage back to those who tended the tree housing the oldest and most powerful of the tree spirits.

She took a few moments to study the reddened, flaky bark of the cedar trees. If there were spirits in these trees, they were currently laying low. Not that Hinata was going to complain about it. Still, unlike many, she wasn't one to assume people hundreds of years ago were somehow incapable of analytical thought. Something started the legends.

Satisfied that the trees posed no immediate danger, she pushed through the overgrown trail. An old shack lay ahead, built beside an old cave. A small stream babbled across a rocky bed as it stretched down the far hills. Hinata pushed through the door, "Pardon the intrusion, Tenten." She said.

The young woman looked up from a small table. "No problem." She turned around and startled Hinata with a hug. "I was about to go blow that useless, frustrating piece of garbage up, anyway."

Hinata peered over her friend's shoulder at the set of seals she had been working on. "You normally don't get that frustrated." Hinata soothed.

"I know." Tenten huffed, turning to point at the seal. "These things can be amazingly simple, in the case of a standard storage seal." She pointed to scribblings on the walls, "Or a neatly compressed, highly intricate form that the final product obscures." She paced to the other side of the room. "It has been sort of a white elephant for a long time... The sealing arts are all but gone."

Hinata was not sure she completely understood. "But... We use seals all the time..."

"Simple storage scrolls and elemental seals are widespread... But who actually understands them?" She pulled out one of her scrolls. "These are just copies. Most of the seals we use today are what has been passed down in a coloring book that continually has pages torn out of it when the actual art of painting has been lost."

Tenten palmed her forehead. "Now that the village and all of its ancient seals have been obliterated, we can't ignore that white elephant, anymore. Anyone who is vaguely familiar with sealing jutsu is feeling the pressure to restore the art."

Hinata hated feeling helpless. Sealing jutsu wasn't her strong point. The Hyuuga would occasionally use a storage seal, but the only seal given much attention was the Curse Seal... Or Caged Bird Seal, different people called it different things for understandable reasons. Then an odd thought occurred to her. "Do you think Naruto knows much about sealing jutsu?"

Tenten scoffed. "Hinata... The guy isn't exactly known for being a serious study."

"I know," She sighed. Though she would argue that art didn't necessarily come from studying. "But he does have..." Tenten just stared blankly at her. "The fox..."

"That's right!" Tenten perked up. "Even if he doesn't know it, I'm sure he knows someone who does." Hinata suddenly felt Tenten grab her hand and start dragging her out the door. "We're going to find your boy."

Sometimes, Hinata mused, Naruto and Tenten could be quite similar.

* * *

The blonde squinted into the blinding light reflected into his eyes. He much preferred normal showers. He hefted the bag, pointing its silver lined surface away from him. Granted, they were better than a cold shower, but he never would have imagined just how effective the morning sun was at turning water into boiling torture.

He nabbed an empty bag from a nearby pile, and began dumping half of his bag into the empty bag. It didn't take him long to figure out this trick, but the first time in the shower left him with blisters. He took a moment to fill the bags the rest of the way with cool water. Now he had twice the showering water at temperature below the melting point of flesh!

The shower stalls were ... Well... They were temporary, and it showed. He hung his bags up on the hook and allowed himself to briefly indulge in a bask under warm water. He moved his feet carefully across the bare wood floor. He swore to all things holy that if he got one more splinter, he would invent a planet-sized Rasengan just to obliterate this abominable terror of a structure.

The shower went better than expected. No splinters. He had a full bag just for rinsing and enjoying warm water. The shack didn't spontaneosly collapse, life was good.

He dried off with his towel and a new problem surfaced. "Well, I'm an idiot." He sighed. He forgot to bring a set of fresh clothes. He could throw on his old clothes, but he could practically smell them from where they sat. A brief debate settled it. He'd simply cloak his offensive parts in the towel and make a quick dash to the safety of his tent. He wouldn't be the first, and he could always play it off as a prank of some kind.

Fully prepared to dash across the camp to his tent, Naruto pushed open the door... And met a pair of lavender eyes that assumed the size of ramen bowls.

Instinct took over and he retreated back into the shower room commons, closing the door.

"Oh, for the love of- She has the Byakugan, it's nothing she hasn't seen before." He heard Tenten shout. Naruto briefly chastized himself - he was supposed to play it off as a prank.

"T-Tenten!" Hinata squeaked.

"What? I gave up on having any kind of dignity around Neji." The older kunoichi deadpanned.

"That's not... I wouldn't..." The Hyuuga stammered.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who led us here." Tenten quipped.

Naruto heard an awkward squawking noise amidst the silence. "Okay..." He started, turning toward the closed door. "I forgot my clothes - I just need to go back to my tent."

"We're the only ones around." He heard Tenten's voice shift. "It's not like you're naked or anything."

"Alright, fine." He grumbled. Sure, it was somewhat humiliating, but now that he knew what he was dealing with on the other side of the door... He slid it open, squinting against the sun as he stepped through. He was just about to dash off to the tent when he noticed how Hinata's face was the most intense shade of red he could imagine as he caught her glance away.

Somehow, that look set his heart pounding in his chest... Why, pray tell, would Hinata place him under a genjutsu?

* * *

Danzo set the report down on his desk with a sigh. The investigation into the Uchiha compound, itself, returned little but a few nondescript references. It was following up on those references where things got... Disturbing.

Symbols were traced back to the Uzumaki and Senju clans, names tied in with legends of gods, prophecies of those gods returning with the power of the Sharingan. There were even some writings that claimed the Sharingan could become the legendary Rinnegan. Normally, he would have written it off as typical Uchiha boasting.

However, a man wielding the Rinnegan did just make a crater out of the village. Then there was the Hyuuga girl's reaction to viewing the tablet. None of the Hyuuga he assigned to the investigation unit reported adverse reactions, but it could be the seal placed on the branch members. Regardless, the tablet brought into question the Sharingan, Rinnegan, and Byakugan - and that was a disturbing number of coincidences.

He looked over at the dark haired man sitting in the room. "Shikaku, I would greatly appreciate if you would take over the investigation of these... Whatever these are." He extended the report to the Nara head.

"Hmm..." The Nara mused over the report for a few minutes. "How fitting, the Uchiha had a secret monument to people who wielded Earth-shattering power."

"Initially, I was going to put together the chunin exam candidates from four years ago with some of the newly graduated genin to train in large team tactics. The invasion of Pain has illustrated how poorly our three man cells operate with other three man cells." Danzo stroked his chin.

The Nara's brow quirked. "Yes, a deployment to the ruins of The Village Hidden in the Eddies would be a suitable compounding of goals." He paused. "Do you suspect there are things there that only a living Uzumaki could recover?"

"It is hard to say. My operatives have not been very successful in recovering much of anything useful from the Uzu islands." The interim Hokage had to admit. "I just have a feeling that it is a better alternative than keeping him squandered away, here. Not to mention, our operatives have managed to identify the man who executed the attack on the village was of Uzumaki descent."

"And he had the Rinnegan." Shikaku narowed his brow. "My gut tells me that there is someone out there who is a lot farther along in understanding all of this than we are."

"And whoever it is has some long strings to pull from." Danzo concluded.

"My thoughts, exactly." Nara studied where the tent met the ground. "Look for an excuse to call a meeting of the Kage."

Danzo took a moment to figure on Shikaku's angle. He was always known for having multiple purposes stacked atop each move he made. Undoubtedly, someone with the resources to pull the strings of Pain and the Akatsuki would require monumental effort to identify, let alone combat. But there was another angle to this that Shikaku was playing. "Sacrificing generals is just the kind of strategic savagery I would expect from you, Shikaku."

The Nara simply nodded. "The greatest illusion is that the Kage is the king."

"So long as I seat this office, I will accept the risk." If it would give the nations strings to follow, then a meeting between the Kage would be worth it even if all Kage were lost.

"It is unfortunate that many truths will be lost to history." Shikaku adopted a distant look.

"All ninja, even Kage, are tools. Even the best and most well kept of tools will be sacrificed in the line of work." It was a philosophy Danzo embraced. While he didn't deny that ninja were also humans and all that implied - the job of a ninja was utilitarian.

"Very well." Shikaku nodded. "I will see to it that Tsunade remains incapacitated until a point when a meeting of the Kage is underway, or such a meeting is deemed an unrealistic goal."

Danzo laughed. "I suspected as much."

Shikaku shrugged. "Make sure you include security and extraction operations into the routines of that deployment. You never know just how pear shaped things are going to go."

* * *

"Sealing jutsu?" Naruto tilted his head at her, shadows from the overhead branches playing across his features.

"That unpredictableness of yours wouldn't happen to have any nuggets of information hidden away in that head of yours, would it?" Tenten shifted. She couldn't help but imagine smacking him upside the head multiple times as literal nuggets scattered out of his hears.

"Not really. There is that scroll the Toads have that deals with the Kyuubi... But I don't really understand how it works." The blonde's voice dropped.

"Wait... A scroll about the seal used for the Fox?" Tenten's felt her eyes light up. Scrolls always had interesting and useful stuff.

"Yeah. Freaked the hell out of me when they forced it down my throat." The blonde shivered. "Felt like I was swallowing a tree for weeks afterward."

Tenten, honestly, didn't know how to react to that. Probably something she had to be there to understand. "Uh... Would you mind if I took a look at it?"

"Uh..." the blonde seemed troubled. "I'm not quite sure. I think something happened to it when I swallowed it."

"But... Why would you eat a scroll?" Hinata shifted to look at Naruto.

"I don't know. The pervert and the toads were talking about stuff and then the toad leapt into my throat." He scrambled his hair.

"So was it a frog or a scroll?" Just what in the hell was the notorious knucklehead trying to say? Tenten was beginning to doubt he had any idea what seals were.

Naruto simply growled, biting his thumb. He placed his hand on the ground and the characters for a summoning stretched from his blood. A toad roughly the size of Akamaru sprang out from the smoke. Its figure was oddly distorted, its abdomen elongated.

"Ah, so I can still summon you." The blonde mused.

The toad looked around. "I did not imagine you would seek to alter the seal so soon." Tenten felt her brow perk. She was still skeptical, but this was more promising than throat-toads.

"Uh, well; my friend, Tenten, was curious about sealing jutsu and I really only have the one you do." The blonde motioned in Tenten's direction.

The toad met her skeptical look with one of his own. "Naruto," The toad began "Do you have any clue what could happen to you if the details of your seal were to be known by the wrong people?"

"Hey!" Tenten felt herself protest before realizing.

"Tenten is one of my friends." Naruto insisted.

The toad sighed. "Knowledge can be extracted." It gave Tenten a second look. "But darned if you aren't her spitting image."

"I'm whose image?" Tenten was used to being something of an outlier.

It seemed to contemplate for a moment, doing a double-take at Hinata. "Well I'll be damned... That elder is something else." The toad stood on two legs, its abdomen extending, revealing a large scroll encasing its body. "Very well. The rest I leave to you." The parchment shot out from the scroll, suspended in mid air.

The seal was simple, yet incredibly intricate. It was, also, unlike any other seal she had seen. Most seals were arranged in sprawling circular patterns twith rigid struts forming bridges and spokes. This seal was constructed as interlinked geometric structures vaguely reminiscent of-

"The Bagua..." Hinata spoke just above a whisper as she stood, walking up to the scroll.

Naruto perked forward. "Do you see something, Hinata?"

"It's the Eight Trigrams." She moved her hands across the scroll. She pointed to the spiral in the middle. "The spark of Taiji and Wuji forming Yin and Yang." She moved her hands to the radiating symbols "The Sixiang; Taiyin, Shaoyin, Taiyang, Shaoyang" Her hands migrated to the triangular arrangements. "And the Eight Trigrams illustrated as triangular compositions of Yin and Yang..." Then she stepped back. "Moon." She pointed to the circular spiral. "Stars." She pointed to the triangles. "Sun." She pointed to the square in the corner. "The writing is in the place of where Thunder should be, the element of division and splitting."

"Wow, I didn't know you knew about sealing jutsu, Hinata." Naruto walked over.

Hinata shook her head. "I have never studied it. These are all part of traditional symbols of the Hyuuga used for just about everything."

"I thought it looked similar to something Neji would have." Tenten admitted. "But the Fourth Hokage used this seal, didn't he?" She moved closer to the seal. The small characters that formed the seal looked more similar to what was traditionally used for sealing jutsu. They were just arranged in a way she'd never seen, before.

"Yeah - but Dad never mentioned Hyuuga." Naruto scratched his head.

Tenten stopped and looked at the blonde. "Who?" Hinata, for her part, could have had a rainbow spilling out of her mouth.

"Oh... Yeah - when I almost unleashed the Kyuubi, the Fourth showed up in my mind and fixed the seal." He scratched the back of his head.

"And... He's your father?" Tenten's mind was reeling. What a fucking day!

"That's what he said. And, I guess, I somehow kind of knew." Naruto gave a goofy smile.

"Alright." Tenten took a moment. So the dolt was actually the son of the legendary Fourth Hokage - the legend who sealed away a demon inside said dolt... Using a seal unconventionally designed around Hyuuga themes. "I'm ... Going to have to think about this for a bit."

* * *

Hiashi felt a tingling ... Anticipation? Excitement? He wasn't quite sure where to place the emotion as he looked at the old scroll. It took a lot of digging through archives, the disheveled evidence thereof spraled around him in the form of stacks of books, piles of scrolls, and a few old artifacts.

The tides of time worked to obscure all truths. Even the most immaculately preserved records of granite were burried in the shifting sands of human memory. But even as the tides of time worked to obscure, the threads of existence persisted to tie everything together for those with the diligents to work through the tangles, span the frays, and slip through the stretches.

It was ironic how important the trivial was. An old children's story, all but lost to time, could carry with it hidden origins and past events so beyond comprehension they were lost to the assumption of absurdity. And that is what Hiashi had before him. One of the oldest linguistic works the Hyuuga had to their name - a recounting of an old story the author heard while growing up.

Of course, the city he mentioned existed in no archeological records. The family name he spoke of did not exist in any records. Scholars long before Hiashi wrote the work off as a completely fictitious work - an amusing one, but fictitious none the less.

Hiashi would have agreed, except for the fact that it told the tale of a tree and princess who sealed herself away from the world. For the Uzumaki boy and his daughter to have visions vaguely similar... This was a work only referenced in old academia, and an obscure piece even then.

The events played over in his mind. The conversation he overheard, the legend of the box containing the cursed seal - which broke during the Kyuubi attack about six months into his wife's pregnancy with Hinata - and the tie-in to this ancient work deemed a fiction. Hiashi had to admit he was truthfully scared of what he would find in this old tale. Uzumaki's story could only be described as apocalyptic in nature, and for things of that era to be surfacing, now...

It fit the vision of their destiny all too well.

Hiashi carefully began unrolling the scroll. "May we all find the strength to meet our destiny, and have the wisdom to decide it justly."

* * *

Hinata felt the stupid grin plastered across her face, and it made her smile even more awkwardly. So, Naruto did get to meet his father - and it happened to be the Hokage he seemed to look up to the most. The emotions roiling through her stomach were overwhelming. They'd been wrong - all of those who insisted he was a nobody, a nothing - the'd been so horribly wrong ... Yet even after finding out, Naruto, the kind soul he was, did not rush to smear it in the face of those who caused him so much grief.

It was a testament to the man he'd become - he built the respect he had amongst the people. He did not need to ride on on his father's reputation. But most of all, he got to meet his father - a person he could not even form a vision of beforehand. Her body began to move on its own, her eyes fixated on the orange of Naruto's jacket. The patch of fabric swelled to consume her vision, and a need she was not even aware of was filled as she reveled in feeling his body against hers.

Naruto let out a surprised grunt. "Hinata?" He questioned as she felt his arms close comfortingly around her back.

"I'm ... I'm just glad you finally got to know." She squeezed. He'd spent so much time alone with only a name and a burden.

"I..." He seemed to give up on forming a response and simply returned her squeeze.

The sound of Tenten clearing her throat broke both of them from their moment. "The Lady Leaf hotel just opened if you two need a room, or something."

"What's wrong with here?" Hinata almost felt as if the baritone in Naruto's chest was massaging her. Though she felt her cheeks at Naruto's naive response.

Tenten narroed a brow at the blonde. "I suppose you are the student of the legendary pervert, after all."

Hinata felt Naruto shift with a large breath. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do you mean by suggesting doing that here?" Tenten shot back.

Hinata almost had to laugh at the unfolding scene. "Excuse me," the toad-scroll croaked. "I do not believe my summoner's intentions are or were at all perverted."

"What the hell is everyone talking about?" Naruto looked back and forth.

"If my services are no longer required, I will be returning, now." The toad rolled itself shut and collapsed.

Naruto instantly tensed, and Hinata felt an odd sensation as he burried his face just below her shoulder. "No! Not again!"

"N-Naruto!?" The Hyuuga tried to look past the blonde patch of hair almost in her eyes.

The blonde muffled a plea, "Don't let him jump down my throat again!" He peered over her shoulder at the toad, mouth pressed against her.

Hinata stretched to look at the toad, its mouth turned into a frown of what Hinata could only percieve as concern. "Please take care of him." The toad disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto stretched out and away from Hinata's shoulder, pulling his lower eyelid at where the frog had been standing. "No more throat climbing for you!"

Tenten scoffed. "Okay... Well, whatever. Tell Neji that I accept his invitation, Hinata. I've got some work to do, now." She turned and began walking away. "Oh, and thanks for the help, Naruto." She turned back around. "But hurt Hinata in any way and I'll cut you." She held a kunai out, threateningly.

Naruto held a contorted look of confusion on his face. "What is with everyone?"

Hinata sighed. "They are just confused, Naruto."

"Well then they should stop confusing me." He looked around. "But, since we're at the training grounds, anyway - do you want to train?"

Hinata didn't have to think about it very hard. After their last sparring match, she had been looking forward to another. There was something... Liberating ... About being aggressive toward Naruto. Then there were his shadow clones... While they looked like people - they were simply projections of Naruto. She could actually enjoy defeating them, an experience she didn't really have otherwise.

"Alright." She agreed. "But only if you're in that sage mode." She was curious to see the ability play out with her Byakugan again. It had looked spectacular when he was fighting Pain.

* * *

Shikaku made his way toward the Hyuuga compound. It was not often Hiashi requested his presence. The Hyuuga head tended to just invite himself wherever his interests took him. The man must be particularly troubled by something.

A younger branch member greeted him at the edge of the compound. "Welcome, Lord Nara. Lord Hiashi is anxiously awaiting you. Please follow me."

He followed after the younger man, glad for the guidance. The Hyuuga compound was a maze that perhaps only made sense to those who could see through walls. In either case, it was sure to infuriate intruders.

The branch Hyuuga stopped at a sliding door. "Lord Hiashi, Lord Nara to see you."

The door slid open. Shikaku noticed a peculiarly distant, even haunted look on Hiashi's face as he stepped through. "Ah, good. Thankyou."

The branch member nodded before departing. Shikaku looked the elder Hyuuga in the eye. "You look as if you are plagued by a poltergeist. What is going on?"

"I wish it were merely that." Hiashi said, turning. "Come. I will show you." Shikaku followed silently as the Hyuuga led him even deeper into the compound. The silent walk was eerily purposed, passing by numerous sections of identical hallway, turn after turn; staircase after staircase. Finally, Hiashi opened the door to what could only be described as an archive.

"I didn't know you did your homework without reading glasses, these days." Shikaku quipped.

Hiashi ignored the jab at humor, completely, striding to a scroll left sitting atop a reading table. "I am curious what you make of this." The Hyuuga offered a seat a the table.

Shikaku sat, giving the whole situation a skeptical look. What, pray tell, could his old friend have found to cause him such grief? "Alright..." He carefully opened the scroll and began to read.

At first, the story sounded like any other legend of take-your-pick... But then there was a particular account regarding a young man with eyes consisting of contentric circles. It was there that Shikaku began to think he was reading an autobiography instead of a work of fantasy fiction.

There were sages who worshipped trees and directed the currents of nature - notable since there was something about a tree going bat-shit crazy and wreaking havoc. Then there was a description of a final battle. Stones fell from the sky as the moon shone blood red behind a towering tree that was draining the very life from the planet.

The fact that this story mentioned what could only be described as the Rinnegan made this story 'troublesome.'

"Well." He said. "That is delightfully apocalyptic." Then the other factors processed. Hinata was recently involved with the tablet found in the Uchiha compound. Shikaku did not like, at all, how credible this was becoming.

"It gets better." Hiashi seemed to be studying him carefully. "I overheard my daughter and Uzumaki talking in the hospital. She spoke of a strange dream, and one of his clones returned to him with an additional memory attached." There was no mention of visions in the report. That would have been nice to know. "The one Uzumaki described was of a war involving a large tree and a box handed to a man with the Byakugan."

"That could just be..." Shikaku stopped at what Hiashi produced.

"These are the fragments of a box secretly passed down to each Hyuuga head." Hiashi set the array of clay pieces out on the table. "The box shattered during the Kyuubi attack when my wife grabbed it before we evaccuated. It was then that one of the nine tails struck the compound and shattered the box in her hands."

"Three months before Hinata was born..." Shikaku mused as he analyzed the fragments. Six months ago, he would have laughed this all off as Hiashi going senile. He always joked with the man that all of the word searches would finally do him in, especially once Hiashi began searching through the array of word-searches to add a third dimension to his amusement, finding words that were not really part of the word search.

But then one man showed up and blew the village to smitherines with other worldly powers. He just so happened to have a set of eyes that were considered a myth until he destroyed the village with them.

Planet-destroying tree myths that tie into a Hyuuga girl's visions and an Uzumaki boy's clone-memory were icing on the damned cake. Damn that stone tablet. He could be watching clouds, ignorantly blown away in the end of the world. But the past just had to taunt the present.

"Troublesome." Was all he managed, turning another fragment over.

* * *

Kurenai sighed as she walked. Though it was more like a waddle, hence the sigh. She never would get used to the awkwardness of pregnancy. On one hand, she was overjoyed at the idea of raising another life, at the feeling of nurturing and protecting something so fragile and precious. On the other hand, it could best be described as hell.

Crying without warning, cravings without reason, and even completely bizarre sexual urges compounded with continual discomfort and punishing bouts of feeling sick without being sick. All of it was part of the experience broadly described as 'pregnancy.'

She would normally journey out to one of the training grounds. It helped to get away from the bustling of the village in the refuges of the forest. Occasionally it was fun to test the instincts of new genin graduates with mild genjutsu. The quality had been dropping, unfortunately. She was able to convince a bunch of 14 year old kids that it had gone from broad daylight to pitch-black night-time in the blink of an eye.

Too many of the academy graduates operated on the assumption that what can't be seen can't hurt you... Which is downright suicidal in the world of ninjas. Even Naruto had a grasp of this concept despite the fact that he never cared to be not-seen. The boy was less of a ninja and more of an unstopable force of nature.

She approached a training ground that had a number Kurenai didn't care to pay attention to. At some point they all boild down to one set of clearings that looked eerily similar to every other set of clearings. It wasn't like anyone signed up to use a specific field, or anything. Kurenai briefly wondered if the training ground numbering was official, or just some dogma that had existed long enough that everyone followed it.

Movement in the field caught her eye. Naruto immediately stood out, squared off firmly with ... Hinata? Kurenai double-checked to make sure it was, indeed, her student. It had been a while since Kurenai and Hinata spoke. After Pain's attack, she'd gone to see her student... And immediately noticed Hinata was dealing with some form of depression. That she had so boldly placed herself in front of Pain was something of a surprise... But, at the same time, it made sense - seeing as Naruto was at stake.

Apparently, something had changed since she last saw Hinata. The young Hyuuga actually made the first move, sliding in at an angle to strike in a circular motion about Naurto. The confidence in Hinata's motions was palpable, and Kurenai couldn't help but feel her heart swell for her student. Whatever the blonde did, it made her comfortable enough to act without fear of judgment.

The blonde countered, intercepting each strike with the palm of his hand. Kurenai felt her face mirror Hinata's for a moment. One did not simply block the Gentle Fist. Hinata retreated backward. "That energy you're using. What is it?" The girl's voice pierced the clearing.

"The toads taught it to me." Naruto replied. "I can only do it when in sage mode. They call it Frog Kumite."

Hinata replied with an empty-palm strike that managed to stagger the blonde a bit. "Like that?"

"Wow!" Naruto gasped. "That is pretty cool! ... But I don't think it's the same thing. It felt similar, though." Kurenai could only surmise that the blonde could feel chakra while in that sage mode of his. But some sage ability related to the Hyuuga?

The blonde formed two clones, each charging the Hyuuga as he formed a Rasengan in each hand.

Hinata angled into one clone, exchanging a few quick blows before she broke away, opposite of the clone's momentum. The other clone leapt high and Hinata flipped backwards, clearing the clone's impact by a healthy margin. The two teens began to increase their speed. The Hyuuga danced under the first clone's strike in a blur.

The original Naruto saw the opportunity and charged with both Rasengan extended. Kurenai marveled at how quickly he closed the distance, even Kakashi would have been pressed to react.

Hinata had just repelled the second clone when the first had redoubled its efforts to coincide with Naruto's charge. The Hyuuga snapped into a spin - Kurenai recognized it as the Kaiten - Palm Revolving Heaven. Except a full dome never formed. Naruto's clone was sent spiralling and his Rasengans slammed into the partially formed wall of energy just as Hinata flipped out of the line of his charge.

Kurenai couldn't supress the thought that Hinata never intended or needed to fully form the technique.

Suddenly, a Naruto wielding Rasengans dropped into place where the first clone had been standing, and the blonde resumed his charge. Kurenai briefly noted the first clone in the background dropping into place where the original Naruto had been. The realization that the blonde had somehow layered a substitution jutsu into the shadow clone technique hit her right about the same time Hinata slammed her hands into Naruto's rasengans.

The result was unexpected. Both rasengans dissipated with barely a protest and Hinata was left holding both of Naruto's hands in her own. _Did Hinata-_ "You're going to have to do better than that!" She smiled, sweeping at the boy's legs. _. . . She did?_

Kurenai couldn't figure if the resulting heap of teenagers on the ground was due to Hinata's inexperience with grappling, or if her student had developed a devious streak in her. It was comical to watch the two stumble over each other and fall, either way. The fact that neither of them were scrambling to get up was absolutely adorable.

"We know you're there, Kurenai-Sensei." She heard Naruto call. While it wasn't entirely what Kurenai expected, it was getting more difficult for the blonde to surprise her. Naruto was his own self-contained explanation for things.

"That was an interesting fight, you two." Kurenai smiled as she approached the two.

"I know! Especially how she countered my Rasengan!" Naruto snapped up to his feet, extending a hand to Hinata. "How did you do that?"

The girl took his hand. "I... I don't know. I just did what felt natural. I can't describe it... It was like I wasn't doing anything."

Kurenai churned the thought in her mind for a moment. Obviously - the girl was doing something. While Naruto arguably could never truly train using the extent of his abilities, Hinata was certainly showing more prowess than she'd demonstrated before.

"Hmm..." Naruto's 'thinking' face gave the impression of much effort. "I think I know what you mean." Kurenai felt her brow perk as Hinata's expression shifted to a curious slant. "To collect nature chakra for sage mode, I have to do nothing... Or ... I can't even do nothing, I can't do anything."

Of course. That explained it. "Naruto... That doesn't make any sense." Kurenai protested.

The blonde ruffled his hair. "It's..." He dropped his hands. "It's like looking into a pond. If you want to find something on the bottom, you have to get out of the lake - or you end up splashing and stirring everything up so that you can't hope to see."

That made a bit more sense, but going about it had to be easier said than done. "Interesting." She afforded. Hinata seemed to be studying blades of grass. The normal tone of her skin meant that she was lost deep in thought. Hinata would be considered a genius if she made her thoughts known more frequently, the Jonin knew well. It also didn't help that much of her knowledge pertained to things the Hyuuga deemed important.

It was curious... The girl understood, well, the mechanics of most jutsu and even genjutsu. She never used them. Not even a simple substitution. It borderlined on suicide, given the Hyuuga bias for close quarters confrontation. Hinata took more interest in Genjutsu, but mostly in being able to defeat those genjutsu. Of all the people she had placed under genjutsu - Hinata was by far the most difficult to delude.

More curious was her ability to break others out of Genjutsu. Even exceptionally powerful genjutsu designed to counter an outside attempt to break it simply dispersed. At first, Kurenai thought Hinata was using some sort of Gentle Fist art on the chakra points - but it quickly became obvious that striking tenketsu was not required.

Hinata played shy and ignorant when questioned about it - but she had to realize and had to know what she was doing. At first, Kurenai had received it as an insult; as if Hinata thought she was above discussion. But, over time, it became apparent that the girl just didn't want to talk about it, and possibly even felt ashamed of it. Given how the Hyuuga fawned over Hanabi - it wouldn't surprise Kurenai if they shunned talents outside of physical combat.

Which, apparently, the girl had been holding back on. Or newly discovered. Kurenai had given up figuring out Hinata much like she'd given up on being surprised by Naruto.

Naruto shifted her direction. "Hey, Kurenai-Sensei?"

"Yes?"

"You're a Genjutsu expert, right?" The blonde almost pounced.

A few random ideas popped into her head of where this conversation would go, but Kurenai just settled on taking the bait. "I have been called one, yes."

"Are..." He looked over at Hinata. "Are there genjutsu that only one person can break?" He the eyes that met her were full of confusion.

Hinata snapped her eyes from the grass, bouncing between the two. For her part, Kurenai was amused. "And where did you get this idea?"

"Well..." He paused. "Ino said that I was under a genjutsu, and only one person could break it."

Kurenai felt the smile pull at the corners of her mouth, and she squashed it with a vengeance. This was just too adorable not to capitalize on. "And I suppose you think my student did this to you?"

Hinata squeaked. "W-What!?"

The blonde just lowered his head.

"Hinata," She turned to her student with a wink. "What have I told you about using that genjutsu on people?"

"B-But - I wouldn't! I don't even know any genjutsu!" The Hyuuga protested.

"Well, if you won't cooperate, I'll just have to tell Naruto how to break the genjutsu, then." This was just too much fun, and the Hyuuga's blank expression of shock was all the evidence to prove it.

"You will!?" Naruto jogged over to the Jonin.

"I will." There was one form of genjutsu Hinata had yet to be able to see through, and Kurenai used it to project her voice directly into Naruto's ear as she leaned down next to it.

Hinata's Byakugan flared. "S-Sensei... What are you telling him!?" The Hyuuga began to run toward the two.

No sooner had Kurenai finished informing the blonde did he lurch back. "Are you sure there's really a genjutsu?"

Kurenai nodded. "It's a genjutsu all kunoichi have."

Hinata stopped short, and Kurenai wondered if she was catching on.

Naruto looked back at Hinata, then met Kurenai's eyes. "B-But she'll kill me. There's no other way?"

"I'm afraid not, Naruto. It's a cruel, cruel genjutsu." Kurenai feigned a grimmace.

"What did you tell him to do, Sensei?" The look on the girl's face was sheer terror. "If... If it hurts him I won't forgive you!"

_So much for the student trusting the teacher._ There again, she had just been willing to die defending the blonde - if there was one thing to send her over the edge... "Calm down, Hinata." Kurenai reassured. "He will be fine once he breaks out of the genjutsu."

"Are you sure, Kurenai?" Naruto had backed up beside Hinata. "I mean... This is Hinata."

_You're the one who brought up the question..._ Kurenai thought. Though it was cute that he seemed to be taking her side. "Alright - suit yourself." She sighed. "Just remember how I told you to break it."

"What did she tell you to do?" Hinata looked sideways.

The blonde's cheeks turned a shade of red rivaling the brilliance of his hair. "Uh... It's best if I not say."

A sudden sensation caused Kurenai to jump. "Oh," She gasped. "I guess I deserved that."

"What happened?" Naruto tilted his head.

"He kicked." The Jonin patted her stomach.

"Oh, neat!" The blonde stepped forward before lurching to a stop. "C-Can I feel?"

* * *

Hanabi angled through the maze of halls in the Huuga compound. The look on her father's face when he saw the report she wrote on Hyuuga traditions said it all. In that moment, she felt she understood how her sister felt. Had she known, then, perhaps she would not have tried so hard, so early.

But she would not withdraw like Hinata did. Hanabi tried - offering to spar more with her sister, trying to get her to the point where she could feel the joy of pleasing Hiashi. But her sister remained isolated and withdrawn. She'd spent time with the old midwives, learning of plants, flowers; of old tales and arts that only existed in the echoes of history.

Hanabi liked to take the boar by the snout, as they say. She wasn't stupid, just more brazen and aggressive. If it was worth doing, it was worth throwing yourself into it and showing it that you were in control. And that is just what she planned to do. There was an archive full of historical texts and she planned to show history just who would know it.

She didn't quite expect to see a scroll laid open on the table for her, though. She set the odd clay fragments aside as she set herself up at the table. The scroll appeared very old - and where better to learn about history than old things?

* * *

Notes:

I struggled with portions of this chapter, especially imagery. I also had to keep myself from spelling out the whole story of the origins of the ninja world. I like to think I'm getting you all to exercise your analytical thinking skills. Though I'm sure a lot of you already have this figured out. Shout-outs to all who want to postulate on what is going on in the reviews section.

Also, on an amusing note, as I was writing the final scene with Hanabi - "Firework" came on over the radio here in HyVee. I just thought it an interesting coincidence. For those who do not get it - Hanabi's name translates to "Firework." - Hinata is "A Place in the Sun"

And, yes, if you all review the depictions of the key to the Kyuubi's seal - you'll see precisely what I make reference to - and find it in agreement with depictions of Shinto and Taoist cosmology.


	5. 05: Army

Foreword:

This comes out a bit later than I wanted, and I apologize. I've been very distracted by recent events in the real world, and with other events in my own country.

I will take a moment to caution you all about the media - and not in the way you are typically told. The problem with most of the major media outlets is very simple.

A lack of investigation.

They are happy to report what 'sides' of an issue say, claim, etc - but rarely do they actually investigate the heart of the matter. For all of the hooplah about embedding reporters into militaries and 'coverage' of conflict zones - we see very little of what actually goes on and a whole lot about what someone thinks is going on.

The same can be said of many of the issues that the media covers. From claims of corruption within our government (from my experience - true by default - the government and its institutions are stupidly prone to corruption; the military is no exception and I saw plenty of it while serving) to coverage of social topics. It's all 'he-said-she-said' on a professional scale.

It's a way to dehumanize the 'other side' and to make it easier to portray those who believe in one course of action or another to be heartless, stupid, evil, uneducated, etc.

Beware of this system. It is designed to split us up and to convince us to hate each other. It is designed to make us be quiet and to not discuss the issues we need to discuss.

If we discuss what we know about a problem and why we think the way we do - then it almost always comes down to some common ground or common belief where the views of others make sense. We still may not agree with them - but at least we understand where the other comes from.

But we have to accept that others will have opinions that we don't agree with. We have to accept that the opinions and choices of others will be offensive, at times. We have to talk to each other, rather than let the media tell us about each other.

Now, enough of my petty attempts to save the world from the armageddon I see coming our way. On to the story!

* * *

Chapter 5: Army

Naruto gave the elder Hyuuga a smile as bright as the morning sun behind him. "You wanted to see me, gramps?"

The Hyuuga's brow perked. "Uzumaki, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from using such casual speech. I am the head of the Hyuuga clan, not a thrift store manager."

"Uh..." Naruto squirmed for a moment. "What should I call you, then? It just feels wrong to be so... Fake."

"While I applaud your inexplicable aptitude for wisdom, Uzumaki; by the way, it is most unsettling; there is such a thing as image." The man explained, turning toward the Hyuuga compound.

For the life of him, Naruto couldn't figure out why anyone would put effort into being someone they weren't. "I can't say I understand - people always gave me hell for my orange jumpsuit."

"Perhaps you have a point." Hiashi said, rounding a corner. "There is a time for all manner of change."

"I guess..." Naruto wasn't really trying to make a point... But if his words helped someone else, it was a good thing. "What did you want to see me about?"

Hiashi stopped abruptly next to a set of double sliding doors. "Something that all fathers must discuss with young men sharing a mutual interest in their daughters."

Naruto's head tilted a bit. "I am not sure I understand..."

"You have been spending a lot of time with my oldest daughter, lately." The older Hyuuga's eyes were locked on the blonde.

Somewhat to Naruto's own surprise, his eyes found everything but the Hyuuga to look at. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, slightly. "I... Well, I guess." Naruto's thoughts were divided across his fascination with the sensation of danger. What did he know about fathers and daughters?

"You care about my daughter, am I correct?" Hiashi's eyes didn't move.

Instinct was crawling across Naruto's bones. Naruto had not the slightest clue what this was all about, but it was dangerous. He did, however, find Hiashi's eyes. "Of course I care for Hinata. She's been..." A strange flurry of words flooded his mind, for a moment, before the statement simply rolled off his tongue "who I have been missing."

A brief smile tugged at Hiashi's mouth with a slight jolt of what might have been a chuckle. "For the life of me, Uzumaki, I will never know if your depth is intentional or one never ending coincidental conspiracy of the cosmos."

Whatever the hell that meant, and the lack of any tone gave the blonde few cues to go off of. Naruto stepped back, defensively, as Hiashi began to move.

The Hyuuga slid open the doors, motioning for the blonde to step through. "Regardless," Hiashi started once more "There are certain things that are normal for people who enjoy each other's company to consider, and I must make sure that you are considering the things my daughter has been raised to consider."

Naruto's vision tracked between Hiashi and the open portal, around the door frames, and back to Hiashi. If he walked through that door...

"I assure you, Uzumaki, that I have more sense than to try and trap the young man who defeated a foe who single-handedly turned the village into a crater." Hiashi stepped through the entryway.

Naruto looked on, a flood of uncertainty washing over him as he followed through the threshold. What, pray tell, could a person like the warm and compassionate Hinata have to do with a conversation this... Unsettling?

* * *

Sakura shuffled her way with the crowd as it swung wide around a team of workers sawing wood planks off of a log. Just behind the immediate distraction, fish swam in an array of tanks improvised from bathing basins to pitched crates and even a kettle. The store owner was ushering people through the wall-less frame of what would eventually be his store beneath the apartment building.

The supply of lumber had essentially been depleted by this point. To meet construction demands, logs were cut from the local forests and cut on site. Critical pieces still had to be treated and properly dried, but that dedicated operation had set up not too far outside of town.

A sharp hiss drew her eyes. A small team of blacksmiths were turning out nails, a commodity that had also been depleted. In the brief time it took her to pass the outdoor setup, she watched one blacksmith hammer out four nails with machine-like practice.

Sakura had tried her hand at it once when visiting Tenten. Fifteen minutes later, she had a cross between a pair of scisors and an icicle about four times bigger than the nail she was aiming for. There was far more finesse to blacksmithing than met the eye - and Sakura felt her efforts could be better applied to other hobbies.

The bustle of town thinned, the sharp crack of hammering drifted into a dull thud. Sakura crested over a small grassy hill stretching just beyond the edge of the rising village, panning her eyes across the scene that rested just below. The field had become a frequent meeting and impromptu training ground for the Leaf's ninja.

A small crowd sat reclined against the slope of the hill as two figures squared the field. Sakura felt her heart momentarily skip a beat when her eyes realized who it was.

"It's about time boardhead." Ino's voice came from the right. The platinum haired young woman pointed an accusing sprig of some variety of grass at her. "You're about to miss the big rematch."

"I am curious, Lady Hinata, to see how your handle of the Gentle Fist has improved." The cool voice slid across the field.

"I was actually hoping to try something else, Cousin Neji." The light, almost whispy voice replied.

"Suit yourself." The male Hyuuga smiled. "Though I must admit I am curious about this 'something else.'"

Hinata smiled in return. "Come closer, and I will show you."

Sakura felt a mild tingling in her toes as Neji began to move. She would almost never admit it, but the memory of Hinata's first fight with Neji served as a huge motivation to push her through the medical corps' training. While seeing Naruto and Sasuke tear themselves up was an obvious influence - what pushed her to seek greatness was the early lesson that the Gentle Fist taught the young girl. The little things, the minor details, were just as deadly as the missing limbs and gaping holes.

"So show me." She heard Neji as he slid in close to Hinata.

Hinata's reaction was not what Sakura would have expected from a Hyuuga. The girl pivoted with a slight rotation of the arms before thrusting both hands out, hard, into Neji's chest. Hinata recovered into an angled stance as Neji rolled with the fall back to his feet.

Sakura had reviewed Hinata's medical records after taking up her position in the hospital. It was a troubling set of data. While the Leaf medical corps could heal parts of the body, Hinata's heart and lungs simply weren't recovering like they should have.

"Interesting." Neji settled into the classic stance of the Gentle Fist. "But not every enemy is going to come to you."

It was at this point that Sakura was sure she had entered some sort of parallel universe. Hinata _jumped_, landing just outside of Neji's reach before scooping forward into a hard upward thrust with both arms. Neji shifted around her attack, preparing to deliver a few strikes to her side when the girl rounded, slamming pawed hands against her cousin's shoulders.

The Leaf really tried hard to save the Hyuuga heiress's life. But every physical indication was that they were simply proping up a failing system. The writing in the statistics were clear - Hinata Hyuuga was dying, and there was not a medical ninja or witchdoctor in the Leaf who could do a thing about it. Even the Hyuuga medical practices offered no solutions to reversing whatever damage was done.

Neji rolled back, pulling into the familiar swirling mass of impenetrable energy. Hinata broke her advance, dodging off to the side. Before she had recovered her stance, Neji collapsed the technique, launching from it almost before it had collapsed. He jabbed toward her hip, but connected with her forearm, instead.

The consequences played out almost instantly. Hinata's hand locked around Neji's wrist, and she drew herself laterally. The already over-extended Neji was pulled forward, over his center of gravity, and onto the ground. The female Hyuuga continued for a few paces. "This worked better than I expected." She cooed.

Neji blew his hair out of his eyes before beginning his struggle to stand.

Hinata stepped out a few paces more. "Are we done, Cousin Neji?"

Neji struggled again, as if in response, and Hinata pulled him out a few more paces, putting pressure on his locked elbow. "Yes, Lady Hinata. We are done." The muffled, neutral reply came from behind a sheath of hair.

Hinata helped raise Neji to his feet, moving to pick bits of grass and debris out of his hair. "I'm sorry about your clothes." Hinata brushed some dirt off of a grass stain.

"It can be washed, Lady Hinata." He said, adjusting his hair band. "I am intrigued by that style, though." The two began walking back toward the array of ninja, who had begun chattering excitedly.

Then, suddenly, after the Chunin Finals and Orochimaru's attack - Hinata was fine. While spontaneous recovery is not unheard of in medicine; every indication was that Neji had, perhaps inadvertently, broken something within the young Hyuuga. It troubled her enough to bring it to Tsunade's attention. After reviewing the available records - even Tsunade doubted that she could have done much to help Hinata.

Sakura asked Kiba and Shino about it... And that is where the story made her hair stand on end. Someone wearing a Leaf anbu uniform performed some kind of medical technique on Hinata during the exam finals. Interestingly, it had been just as Naruto was presumed to have lost his match with Neji when Hinata's injury began causing her serious problems.

There was no anbu on the Leaf roster with anywhere near the medical knowledge to do something about it.

Tenten joined the Hyuuga duo as they approached the group of K11 ninja. "I just want to say that I helped her develop that!"

"It was a most impressive display of the energy of youth!" Lee appeared, walking on his hands. "Neji, now is the time for us to train as hard as Lady Hinata has to achieve a similar youthful briliance!"

"Seriously," Kiba yawned into the sun. "What planet are you from?"

"The youthful planet of volcanic flames of youth, of course." Shino commented, dryly.

Sakura felt herself chuckle with the rest of the group. It was a shame they did not often get the opportunity to do things like this.

"So what was that style?" Choji shifted his legs. "It didn't look like anything I've seen the Hyuuga use."

"It - It isn't complete." Hinata shifted a little bit.

"Now is not the time for modesty, Hinata." Tenten set her hand on the shoulder. "You've brought back a style that hasn't been seen for hundreds of years."

Sakura felt her brow quirk. "Hundreds of years?"

"It was in some old books." Hinata seemed to be studying everyone's shoes.

"The Hyuuga have a lot of old books, apparently. I saw Hinata beating up a training dummy one day and kind of got sucked into the project." Tenten shrugged.

"So... Why did they stop using it?" Kiba stood. "Seems like it's pretty bad ass."

Hinata fidgeted, while Tenten dug out a scroll. "Here, this will make more sense." The weapon mistress said, unsealing a storage scroll. A spear appeared, and she tossed it to Hinata.

The female Hyuuga moved similar to the earlier engagement, rolling the spear low and bringing it parallel with her chest to push against Neji's chest with the shaft in a slow-motion reenactment. Neji seemed to play along, taking a few extra steps back, allowing Hinata enough room. She took a short hop, dropping the spear low to shove it up at an angle. Neji rolled around the tip as Hinata adjusted her posture to deliver a swift strike with the parallel shaft of the spear. Neji then grabbed the spear and Hinata proceeded to draw him out in a similar manner as before, stopping before he toppled over.

"It's the Gentle Step." Hinata said, her light voice punctuating what could be considered a rebirth.

Sakura would later confirm with Kakashi that Kabuto had infiltrated the Chunin exam finals after concealing himself as an Anbu. Tsunade confirmed that Kabuto was Orochimaru's medic and research assistant. The man, therefor, knew a lot of things about stuff.

And he just happened to take a break from killing Anbu to completely anonymously save Hinata's life.

Sakura knew it was just the product of her imagination, but when she saw Hinata act shy and evasive, it irked her. It almost seemed like she knew - something - anything, and was holding it back. While she couldn't see the girl's intent as malicious - there was a darker part of Sakura that insisted Hinata was not one to let out of sight.

It was a frustrating feeling - because Sakura found the girl absolutely adorable and somehow felt the two understood each other on a fundamental level. Regardless, the circumstances surrounding Hinata's recovery were not her fault. Sakura swallowed the sensation as she refocused on the discussion.

"That is interesting." Shikamaru noted. "This would indicate that, at one time, the Hyuuga commanded somewhat large armies. The Gentle Step evolved out of the techniques used by the spear lines."

"Assume you are correct." Shino shifted his glasses. "Why would they abandon the technique?"

"Because a line of spearmen would be blown away by the power of a single ninjutsu." Sai said from behind everyone.

"Sai, what have we told you about lurking?" Sakura chastized. The guy seriously had no idea how ... Intense ... His awkwardness could be. Intense was the proper word to describe his awkwardness. There was just something about his smile, posture, and presence that was mildly condescending, even threatening. His placid indifference could be both intimidating and infuriating.

Perhaps that was why the platinum seasoned porkchop found him so interesting. He was a ROOT-engineered mind-fuck. At first, Sakura suspected Ino had a romantic interest in Sai - but as time wore on, it became apparent the fascination was more ... Clinical. No doubt, the Yamanaka wanted to crack such an unusual mind open and see what the malfunction was.

"So... You think this goes back before Ninjutsu? What is that, at least a thousand years? How is that possible?" Kiba swatted at some grass.

The group looked up at a round of laughter as a genin ran, screaming, from the battlefield. He shouted something about tree-men sprouting from the ground. A young girl with a smug look on her face returned to her seat. Finally, a good semaritan stood up and chased down the young man to release him from the genjutsu.

"And what happened to the armies?" Shino said, sunlight glinting off of his glasses as turned back to the group.

Sakura ground her molars. Why did every mystery have to have an ominous edge to it, these days?

* * *

Naruto squinted against the sun, stepping to block the searing sensation with the branches of a large oak tree. He thought back to the conversation with Hiashi. He was an orphan... Family was something he always wanted, it never occurred to him that it was something he could build. The soles of his sandals scraped against the bark of an exposed root as he made his way toward the trunk. Did the conversation mean that Hinata wanted to build a family with him, some day?

He flopped to the ground, propping against the trunk. He, honestly, never considered such a thing. He never once thought about the idea of a family when he was fixated on Sakura. Naruto thought she was pretty, and all of the guys wanted rights to hug, kiss, and claim the pretty girls as theirs. It was only natural for Naruto to think the same about Sakura.

It seemed very shallow when he thought about it. Sure - he and Sakura developed a friendship and appreciation for each other, but it wasn't really something they only shared with each other. It lacked a certain intimacy. He really didn't recognize it until he thought about it... But how Hinata saw Naruto was how she saw no other person. He had to admit, he allowed her closer to him than he'd let any other person.

But a family? What could he possibly know about raising one of those? And if Hinata truly wanted one, she deserved someone who had a clue.

"You know, he's changed a lot since you fought Cousin Neji years ago." A sharp feminine voice came from the other side of the tree.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know the tree was occupied." Naruto jested, shifting to catch sight of honey brown hair on the other side.

"Sis has changed a lot since then, too." She seemed to ignore his comment.

A wave of realization swept across him. "You must be Hanabi, then, right?"

"I guess this is the first time we've talked, isn't it?" The girl stayed propped against the tree, presumably staring off into the distance. "He never really knew how to raise us, Father. I've only heard stories of Mother. To hear Sis talk about her, sometimes, makes me a little jealous that I don't have one full memory of her."

"At least you get to hear about her." Naruto let his voice drop a bit. "I don't really know who my mother was, even."

There was a moment of silence. "Thinking back," the fledgling teen started "I have probably never had a healthy view of Father. All I ever wanted was to be worthy in his eyes, but I soon realized that my mistakes were met with more orders and demands while Father would despair with every one of my sister's mistakes and failures."

Naruto simply sat, somehow finding the leaves dancing in the breeze to be a sight that helped to relate to what the girl was saying.

"In a twisted way, I guess, I wanted to see that despair, well. It didn't matter whether I succeeded or failed. No matter how hard I pushed myself, it was always another task, another set of instructions to shore up a weakness. I hated him." He could hear her shift. "I hated that he showed emotion for her, and was a statue for me. I would have rather him pained by my failures than approving of my successes, but when I tried failing, it never worked."

What could Naruto say to that? If it was one thing he got plenty of when he was a kid, it was emotion. The overwhelming majority of it was anger and disgust - but at least the people he wanted to make happy felt something one way or the other. "I hope things are different, now."

"They are." She said, rather flatly. "Although, to be honest, it isn't just that he changed. After a while, I realized that I would not have tried as hard if he would have given me what I was working so hard to try and get. If I didn't hate him, I wouldn't have tried so hard to show his challenges as beneath me. I would not be who I am, today."

"But, still..." Was she seriously saying she was thankful for ... Abuse?

"We always have to do things we do not want to do. After your match with Neji and the attack of the Sound and Sand, I no longer needed hatred to motivate me, but I wouldn't have survived the attack were it not for Father's intensity." He heard Hanabi's clothes rustle and turned to see her standing.

"I ... I am still not sure I understand. Why tell me all of this?" He asked.

The girl shrugged. "It just felt like something would be left undone if I didn't. Plus," She added "You have the power to change." She pointed to her eyes. "No one can see the whole of destiny, but yours is the destiny of change. Everyone who meets you changes because of who you are."

* * *

Shikaku narrowed his eyes at the way the donation box was turned. He was not entirely surprised, but it was not something he would have expected. The interruption had been far briefer than he expected. He almost always contributed donations, and today he would do the same.

"How are things going with the reconstruction?" The shop owner, a graying man, asked.

"Better than expected, worse than hoped." He dropped in 500 Ryo. "How has the charity been running?"

"Everyone is in need of it, lately." The man admitted, placing the items from Shikaku's list into a bag. "But it is times like this when we should be most charitable, no?"

"Indeed." Shikaku smiled. "Thank you very much." He said, receiving the bag. He paid for the goods and stepped back back into the flow of human traffic. Butterflies danced in his stomach as he made his way back to his tent and he struggled to keep a normal appearance about himself.

The Nara were always prime targets for espionage. Nothing would draw the eye of a spook quite like a giddy Nara skipping home from grocery shopping. That wouldn't look suspicious or anything. No reason to put the store under surveillence, start following frequent customers, and torture merchants for information.

He ducked inside his tent. He ignored what he knew would be inside the bag, stocking the groceries away before bothering to touch the notebooks and pad of paper that had been added for him. It was always the one with the bent spiral binding. He grabbed the exact middle of the notebook's spine between his thumb and middle finger and trickled some chakra into the notebook.

A small scroll appeared within the spiral binding, the notebook disappearing. It was an interesting system that was simple enough when you knew what you were looking for, but offered many ways for someone attempting to intercept the message to get things wrong. He carefully compressed the spiral binding while applying more chakra. The binding glowed briefly before dissolving and crawling across the scroll to form shapes, figures, and images.

It took a lot of his own research, deduction, and careful observation; but it was clear to Shikaku that, decades ago, he was inducted into Jiraiya's legendary spy network. After he observed the network for a while, it seemed to largely have a life of its own. Some people were part of it only temporarily. Others were the fixed points that helped the network endure. Some seemed to know they were part of a much larger network, others were just a cog in the machination.

It was frustrating for Shikaku. On one hand - the spy network Jiraiya had developed was an impressive and unique life form to study. It got injured, it healed, it ate, it slept, it grew, and it strained. Some parts were aware, some parts were not. On the other hand - the more Shikaku learned about it, the more he knew, the more dangerous he was to it. Even Jiraiya had adopted a rather hands-off approach to his spy network. The more people were known to be a part of it, the less effective it was. The more a captured individual knew about the network, the greater the damage done to the network by their capture.

After Jiraiya died, Shikaku expected the network would live on without him for a time. The destruction of the Leaf complicated things, though. The network had to re-establish connections, re-negotiate procedures, and make sure that operatives and informants were not compromised or in need of extraction.

The first item in the drop was a general broadcast message across the network. General broadcasts were meant for those who held more permanent roles in the network and were aware of the network's existence. Apparently, Jiraiya trained a successor to take his place in the network. Or, at least, that is what the notice claimed.

Shikaku read it over, interest piqued. If Jiraiya did train a successor, it was good news for the long term survival of the network. It would be a very regrettable loss for the Leaf if they did, in fact, lose touch with Jiraiya's network. Sources stretched to the highest echelons of the Sand (it would not surprise Shikaku if the KazeKage, himself, was a part of it) and there was an impressive amount of information about the Akatsuki organization that made its way back to the Leaf. Just as puzzling was how much information about Orochimaru made its way through the network.

Shikaku took a moment. It would almost be too obvious for Naruto to be the one Jiraiya trained to inherit the network.

But...

Who would expect the notorious knucklehead to be the kingpin of what had to be one of the largest spy networks on the continent? Naruto had exceptionally strong people skills with his honest and open nature. He was the type of person you would trust secrets to; the type of person you would help because you knew he would bend over backwards to pull you out of hell. And... Who would have expected Jiraiya to build up an intelligence network?

Of course, it could just as easily be someone claiming to be the successor - or someone else who Jiraiya had trained.

Still, it would do well for those who were keeping the network alive to know that someone was taking responsibility for keeping things alive. Before too much longer, others would receive the same information in their drops, and the flow of information and requests for it would start to pick back up.

Obviously, Shikaku was in a rather privileged position, being set as one of the end-points for what he presumed was much of the network's total traffic. He didn't contribute to the network, at least, not knowingly. That much was fine with him. He'd come to the understanding long ago that he was supposed to advise the Leaf based on the information from the network, not to be an active part of it. People like him were under far too much surveillence for him to be very effective at injecting information into the network. Information had many ways of finding its way to him and very few ways of leaving his custody.

* * *

Naruto knew he was running a little late. He really didn't care too much, Kakashi always managed to get away with it, and he did feel a little lost on the road of life. Hanabi left just as suddenly as she'd started talking to him. The whole Hyuuga family, he decided, was weird. Not that weird was bad... But weird was most certainly weird.

Did Hanabi know what was on his mind? Or was she simply glad to have someone outside of the family to vent to? Hiashi was pretty clear when he indicated that Naruto should begin thinking about family and what it meant to have one. But it didn't sound like Hiashi had much of an idea on how to raise a family. Or... Did he, and Hanabi simply didn't understand? But she did come to an understanding about it.

Naurto ruffled is hair as he made his way around the outskirts of town. He had way too much on his mind to properly respond to all of the pleasantries that were shot his way these days. He crossed into a recently cleared section of forest that would take him to the field everyone was to meet in, stepping heedlessly over stumps and crunching through fallen twigs.

Just what did Hanabi mean when she said that no one could see all of destiny? Could the Byakugan see destiny? Then why did Neji insist that his destiny was to lose? Hanabi did say that no one could see the whole of destiny - but how could you see destiny and not see something so profound happening five minutes later? Was that the mistake Neji made? Or did Neji simply see what he needed to see to fulfil his destiny?

Again, Naruto held his head to keep his skull from exploding. He couldn't say he really believed in destiny. Things happened because people worked at them, not because they were destined to happen. After all, if everyone simply sat around waiting for destiny, it would never come. So, whatever the Hyuuga thought they were seeing, it didn't change that there was work to be done. Neji lost because he thought he knew what was supposed to happen rather than paying attention to what was happening.

Naruto felt an amount of contentment with his revelation on that issue as masses of people began to come into focus over the hill. He exchanged some pleasantries as he made his way through the crowd of ninja, thankfully not delving into any kind of deep conversation. He spotted Hinata and Neji standing off from the main mass, and began making his way over. The rest of the "Rookie Nine" and "Konoha Eleven" began to peek in and out of view from the shifting bodies of the crowd.

"Hey, Naruto!" Choji bellowed. "We were wondering when you would get here."

The blonde flet his face lift into a smile as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"You missed a most youthful display from Lady Hyuuga!" Lee informed. Kiba glared back at Lee as both were frantically doing pushups while facing each other.

The blonde caught the blush of the Hyuuga teen. "I..."

"Oh," Naruto couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in himself. "I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, Naruto." Hinata moved to his side.

"Well, now that you all are here." A familiar, casual voice drawled. The group turned to see Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, and Yamato overlooking the fringe. "We can begin discussing the new mission assignment."

There was a sudden outburst of noise as most of the group began talking at once. Yamato cringed, "Hold it!" He commanded. "One at a time. Shino?" He motioned to the placid chunin.

Shino's eyebrows perked above his glasses for a moment. "We've heard rumors that this is to be a large group assignment. Is such a thing wise with the village in this state?"

"Not to douse your flames of youth," Gai motioned with his arm. "But the village has been in many capable hands before you twelve came along."

"Each of you will be assigned a group of three recent academy graduates to oversee and train with two Jonin acting as your advisors." Kurenai picked up.

"That's fifty ninja!" Sakura blurted.

"That is an unusually large group." Neji was found next to Tenten. "May I ask where we are going?"

"The ruins of Uzushiogakure - The Village hidden in the churning eddies." Yamato spoke flatly.

There was a quiet moment. "Those ruins are still in Fire Country." Sakura said.

"That they are." Gai boldened. "It is an excellent way for our new graduates to get some quality training!" The Jonin's smile glistened.

Kakashi sighed. "Some of our intel indicates that the Akatsuki are interested in very old things. The leading clan of the Hidden Eddie was wiped out for its advanced knowledge of powerful sealing techniques." Tenten seemed to straighten in the corner of his vision. "The village leadership believes it prudent to investigate the ruins of Uzushiogakure under a heavy guard."

"Normally," Kurenai continued, "the notorious Konoha Eleven would be considered sufficient for the task." She folded her arms. "The recent attack, however, illustrated that many of our genin are lacking in experience and training. It was also noticed that we have become far too focused on small ninja squads to fulfil contracts while neglecting larger group tactics."

"You all will train the newer genin in general abilities and wargame larger unit tactics." Yamato followed. "You all will meet with your genin squads later this evening and you will deploy tomorrow evening. You can expect conditions to be relatively similar to how they are, currently, in the village." There were a few sighs. "The mission length is expected to run about three months, but you will have regular supply shipments and are not far from a major shipping port. You should be able to pack fairly light."

"I take it there will be a research team to guard?" Kiba scratched his neck.

"There will be a research team following about two weeks behind you." Kakashi shifted. "That will give you guys time to sweep the area for traps and organize watch procedures."

"There will be a more official briefing by the interim Hokage before you all depart, and the Jonin selected to be your advisors will be there to help guide you all." Kurenai adopted a soothing tone.

"Who will be our Jonin advisors?" Ino flipped her hair.

"That hasn't been decided, yet." Kakashi's eyes almost appeared to smile.

"You all can break for lunch," Yamato stepped forward. "We will all meet back here at fourteen hundred. If the sun is anywhere near the Fourth Hokage's head," He motioned to the mountain. "You're late."

The four Jonin dispersed, wordlessly.

"Does the sun even set near the Hokage monument?" Kiba tilted his head.

Naruto looked sideways at Hinata. "I guess..." He took note that she was distracted about the time he noticed the shadow crawling over both of them.

"You two are going to start talking." Ino craned, hands on her hips, flanked by the rest of the Konoha Eleven. "Now."

* * *

Hiashi pinched his brow. To whom could he entrust both of his daughters and the son of his twin brother? Half of the names, he didn't even recognize. The Hyuuga cast a glance at Shikaku, who seemed to shrug in response. Choza simply seemed to be spacing into the distance, and Inoichi was pinching his chin.

"Honestly, I really don't see why Kakashi should not be involved." A voice spoke up from the left.

"Does his mission to Wave bring up any alarms?" A second reacted. "He opted to continue that mission and nearly killed himself and his whole squad."

"He was also the mentor of the Uchiha boy." Yet another voice chimed in. That was sure to start some fireworks.

"Is the master to blame for all of his student's decisions?" The first voice croaked.

"The boy clearly had deep issues, and yet Kakashi continued to teach him increasingly powerful techniques. One of which nearly killed the boy who is now our acclaimed hero." The second voice shot back.

"The Uzumaki boy does not seem to hold it against him." A new voice broke in.

"Just to keep things in perspective, he also believes in bringing back the Uchiha boy." Yet another voice.

This was going to be a long Jonin council meeting.

* * *

Hanabi yawned, sitting down beneath a tree at the edge of the meeting field. She still had a while until she had to meet with... Well, she was never really put on a ninja team. She was almost always training with her father since she graduated the academy. She flipped her backpack around and carefully withdrew a metal case. She cracked it open, revealing the cushioned interior before she withdrew the old scroll.

The story followed a young man and his childhood friend in a world full of seemingly magical objects and alien creatures. She was a kind and compassionate girl and was eventually selected for some kind of ritual that occurred every thousand years. She was sent to a faraway land, perhaps even another planet.

But something went wrong. Words were used that Hanabi wasn't sure she understood properly. The protagonist, who seemed to deliberately avoid naming himself, ended up in a warrior caste and was sent to the same land his childhood friend was sent to. Somehow, she did something she wasn't supposed to.

Hanabi's heart wrenched with the scene describing how his childhood friend destroyed most of those he'd arrived with. She'd become terrifyingly powerful, and a haunting shell of the girl he once knew. The wind gently rustled her hair as she began to follow him through his struggle for survival in an alien world. He met up with a few people who survived his caste, and they were just meeting- A shadow crossed the page.

"Hey," A teen, not much older than her, smiled. "If you're supposed to be with us, then it's almost time for things to start." He motioned to the crowd of gathering genin, his blue scarf trailing in the wind.

"Konohamaru!" A blonde girl yelled. "Stop flirting and get back over here!"

"I am not!" He shouted back over his shoulder. "Sorry," He said, turning back to her, extending a hand to help her up. "My team is crazy."

Hanabi took the boy's hand, rising to an awkward stand. "Thankyou." She managed. Usually, people saw her eyes and just left her alone. The Hyuuga, honestly, was not sure what to make of someone voluntarily communicating with her.

"Well, I should get back. Nice meeting you!" He cheered before bolting back to the crowd. Hanabi simply watched for a moment before storing the scroll and departing with her things.

* * *

Sakura's heart pounded in her ears and she felt the hair on her arms bristle. It simply couldn't be enough that Hinata passed out after seeing some kind of stone tablet in a shrine room beneath the Uchiha compound. Oh, no, that would be far, far too bland. Now she was getting visions.

Oh, and Naruto, too. Not just any visions, mind you. The visions seemed to be related, somehow. That was fucking fantastic.

"Hey, Sakura." Ino nudged. "Are you okay?"

Sakura noted Hinata dip shyly amidst the ongoing conversation. Her stomach did a flip and the base of her neck tingled. "I ... Not here, not now."

Sakura's vision blurred for a moment. _God damn it, Ino. Get out of here._

_Just a moment - I-_ The foreign voice cropped up inside her head.

_I said OUT!_ Sakura let loose a burst of chakra as Ino shuddered next to her. "That was rude." Sakura narrowed her brow at her friend.

"This has to do with Orochimaru?" Ino mouthed.

"I said not now." Sakura whispered back. Ino had gotten even faster at grasping the basic idea of things. She probably didn't have the details, but she was getting increasingly intrusive when it came to that Yamanaka mind-hack of hers.

"You said that in your clone's extra memory, you were referred to as 'Uzumaki?'" Shikamaru stroked his chin, looking at Naruto.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"This is just too weird." Tenten said. "The Uzumaki used to be the leading clan of Uzu - where we are going."

"I... Uh..." The blonde Uzumaki nudged some grass with his foot.

Neji had his eyes closed when he spoke, taking a deep breath. "It would seem as if our being sent to the ruins of Uzushiogakure is not by chance or coincidence." He opened his eyes. "I do not think we are going to get any closer to understanding what is going on until we get there. Let's focus ourselves on the task of getting there, first."

Sakura kept her gaze on Neji as everyone gave uncomfortable nods. The group began to disperse, and Sakura made a bee-line for Neji. "Neji-"

"Miss Haruno," Neji began in a stoic Hyuuga tone, "Whatever happens to Naruto from here on out is a destiny to be shared by Lady Hinata. It is not something I or anyone else has control over."

"But Kabuto-" She protested.

"We all have a role that is greater than the sum of our actions." Neji interrupted. "What you have to discuss is best shared for a later time." His eyes settled on her. "You know this to be true, or else you would have brought it up during the discussion."

Sakura resisted the urge to punch him into the next dimension. She turned sharply on her heel, expressing a bit of frustration into her steps. As her rational mind caught up with the rest of her, it ultimately came to the same conclusion as Neji. While she was now certain that Orochimaru knew something, all she would do is further muddy the waters at this point. Whatever the snake's interest in Hinata and/or the Hyuuga was, he didn't seem to have acted on it in many years.

It was a crazy thought... But perhaps Orochimaru was today's villain in order to be history's hero? Well... If he had survived?

Sakura wasn't sure that thought was any more comforting, and she had less than an hour to eat and meet back up with the group.

* * *

Danzo cast his unbandaged eye across the field littered with the summoned ninja. It was a different sensation from commanding ROOT operatives. They were not formed into rigid ranks and many of them met his eye, directly. He actually had to give the old Sarutobi some credit. Interacting with the public had always been his strong suit, a trait Danzo was gaining new respect for.

He cast an eye over to the younger ninja. "Many of you have only recently placed the symbol of our village on your head." He started, wincing as he saw a few wearing the Hita-atte on shoulders, around waists, etc. "After the recent attack, it has been decided that we must begin training to fight as larger groups against more powerful foes. Each of your teams will have one of the twelve older members, most of whom ranked Chunin, stand in as your Jonin instructors on this trip." The group seemed to break their attention for a moment to look across at the older group of ninja.

"They have all fought admirably as a team against many of the most powerful ninja the world currently has to offer, and from them you will learn and practice how to fight as an even larger team." Danzo paused, tapping his cane. "This is the primary purpose of your mission. However, recent events have also given rise to a need to investigate the ruins of an old village. You will go ahead of the research team and establish a secure area."

A few of the teens shifted nervously. It was a somewhat frustrating contrast to the ROOT initiates. But it was also this difference in perspectives that could work to their advantage. Sometimes the people were more important than the mission, a concept ROOT initiates would immediately reject as they killed whatever got in their way or abandoned nameless, faceless comrades like a body sluffing off skin cells. "We do not anticipate much need for security, but if even a fraction of the village's legacy can be uncovered, the knowledge would be invaluable to any nation."

His gaze turned to the older ninja of the Konoha 11 plus his own operative. Their eyes seemed to hold far less worry, but their posture seemed to shift in discomfort. "For many of you, it will be the first time you have ever led a team. Leading is more than giving orders or instilling discipline. Leadership is answering the call of responsibility. Sometimes, that means making the hard decisions. Sometimes, that means bringing order to confusion. But most often, it means paying attention to those you are responsible for. It is giving them the tools they need to solve problems on their own and teaching them how to exploit their strengths while managing their weaknesses." He tapped his cane, again. "It often means putting your own thoughts and worries on hold to listen to and resolve the concerns of those you lead."

There seemed to be a bit less discomfort in their stance. Wording the task of leadership as a list of concepts and a few duties seemed to make it easier for people to see themselves in that role. "In the end, leadership is not controlling, it is teaching and empowering those you lead to be able to act without you." And how many times Danzo had seen institutions where 'leadership' was anything but...

"There will be two Jonin sent to advise your team." He motioned as Yamato and Shizune stepped up from behind him. "They are not here to give you orders, but to offer their experience, knowledge, and talents. They will intervene if they see anything dangerous and will assume control in the event of an emergency." Shizune had been a last-minute suggestion by Shikaku. Danzo had no doubt the man had intended to nominate her all along, but had waited until the council was tired and hungry. She ended up being a more unanimous choice than Yamato had.

Having both Sakura and Shizune out of the hospital was a bit of a concern, but Shizune had mostly been hovering over Tsunade's comatose form. She had already demonstrated great leadership in building a hospital staff that was able to operate under grueling circumstances without her or Sakura bellowing orders. It would do her some good to get out of the village for a time and be amongst the 'flames of youth,' as Gai would suggest. She also added a relatively different perspective, having wandered with Tsunade and lived a very atypical life as a ninja.

"These two will help to guide you through your task and help you to grow as leaders, yourselves." He tapped his cane. "I will leave them to inform you of your teaming assignments, though those do not have to remain fixed for the whole mission. The team assignments are just a starting point."

* * *

Hinata looked down at the scruffy chalk-brown hair topping a trailing blue scarf. "I think I know you..." The boy started, his features narrowing as Hinata braced herself. "You're that girl Boss is always sneaking off to spend time with!"

Hinata felt the heat rise in her cheeks. That was not the expected reaction. "Konohamaru!" Two orange columns of orange hair with an auburn tint topped the head of a girl who jabbed the boy's side. "I appologize, Lady Hyuuga, he can be such a pain." She gave a curt nod.

"It is an honor to be a student of one of the prestigious Hyuuga," a brown headed boy pushed his glasses up, pausing to briefly rub his nose. The poor thing must have some kind of sinus issues.

Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. Hinata knew a bit more about Konohamaru than she did any of the others - mostly because of his relation to Naruto.

"I - Uh," Hinata felt herself shift "Thankyou."

"So, are you really going out with the boss?" Konohamaru angled toward the Hyuuga, only to be stopped short.

Moegi held the boy's scarf and pulled it taut. "Would you stop being an idiot?"

Hinata felt her face heat once again. "It - It isn't for me to say." She glared into the top of her own skull at her stuttering.

"So, um, Hyuuga Sensei?" Udon tilted his head.

Moegi slowly let Konohamaru loose. "Just Hinata is fine." Hinata forced without stammer.

"So what are we doing first, Boss's Girl?" A hand connected with Konohamaru's side "Hinata Sensei?"

Hinata did her best to speak from behind the heat flushing her face. "Well, the mission is supposed to last three months." The kids' eyes swelled a bit. "But we will be staying in housing very similar to what most of you are, now, with regular supply shipments." The trio exchanged glances. "So we should be able to travel pretty light."

Their eyes all shot to her, and she made sure to speak before they bombarded her with questions. "But we should still prepare for the unexpected." She raised a hand like Kurenai sometimes would. "Missions can last longer than what you expect, or you can even be sent on new missions before returning from another." It was a reality few genin were used to. "I will be packing the mission basics, but if you use weapons or tools frequently, you might want to consider packing a few more of those than you would, normally. A week's worth of rations in a storage scroll would also be a good idea. That will last long enough to get to a few major cities near where we are expected to be."

"Do you know what they are looking for?" Udon blurted. "In the ruins, I mean."

"I don't really know." It wasn't the complete truth, but they had all agreed to keep 'the kids' from getting wound up in the issue. When they knew more, they would be sure to keep the genin in the loop.

"They said you all fought powerful opponents." Konohamaru seemed to stand on the balls of his feet. "Who is the most powerful you have fought?"

Hinata thought about that one for a moment. Perhaps there was a lesson in that story.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" The boy next to her shouted. "We get the Hero of the Leaf!"

"I wonder if he will show us the fox!" The other boy pumped his fist.

"Hey, Hyuuga." The first boy seemed to glare at her. "What do you think?"

Hanabi perked an eyebrow, noting the sun hanging just above the trees. "What I think doesn't matter." She stepped ahead of the two. "We have a mission to complete, no matter who is or isn't a hero."

"Great..." She heard one of the boys mumble. "We get stuck with the frigid bitch."

She thought, for a moment, about telling them of the destiny she saw for them. It was tempting. But her own words to their new Sensei, just a few hours ago, echoed in her own mind. No matter what she saw, she didn't see all of what was. Hanabi heaved a sigh.

"I was always told you Hyuuga thought you were better than everyone else." The second boy seemed to spit from behind her.

Hanabi let her brows fall as she tossed her pack aside. "And if I was not better than you, would that change your attitude?"

"Your attitude is what is wrong!" The first boy growled.

Hanabi dropped into a defensive stance. "Then I welcome you to change it."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Yeah - Hanabi doesn't get along well with others.

I am debating just how detailed to make the 'genin army.' On one hand - I want them to be more than just the fodder that we see in countless manga/animes. On the other hand - I do not want to detract from the story's 'heroes.' I will probably end up using a lot of references to other anime just to give many of the anime-familiar audience some 'depth' to the extras without them being nondescript fodder.

I debated doing this like I did - since it is a sudden and massive expansion of the plot's cast. However, it feels 'right' to give our heroes a leadership role and this seems to fit naturally within the plot. It should work okay, too, since most of our 'heroes' are being bombarded with new and unfamiliar faces, as well. Burdens placed upon the reader that can be shared with the characters of the story should work out okay.

I also struggled with the scene where Hanabi was reading the story. On one hand - I felt as if it was cheapening the story to 'gloss' over it... But on the other hand, it seemed like a largely unnecessary detail for this story. Perhaps I can pull a hollyweird and write a prequel that basically gives us the story. By now - it should be obvious it is meant to be a sort of biography, and those of you up to date on the manga should see where this is going (particularly if you looked up my threads on Narutobase that pretty much detail the theories this story is based on).

Until next time, I thank you all for reading - encourage you to review (while praise is nice, and it inflates my ego - equally necessary is criticism) - and hope you enjoyed the read.

Take care, you all, and mind the activities of your governments.


	6. 06: Compass

**Foreword:**

Welcome back, and I would like to say thank you to all of you.

The world has gotten a bit more crazy, hasn't it?

And Naruto has ended.

Fear not, for I have a highly revamped ending in mind for my story (compared to the stock one we were left with). I think you all will enjoy it once we get there.

With that, I end this pre-chapter rambling with a children's rhyme from a little-known book set in a fictitious universe of nigh prophetic acuity:

"Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei

Led us to This Perfect Day

Marx, Wood, Wei and Christ

All but Wei were sacrificed

Wood, Wei, Christ and Marx

Gave us lovely schools and parks.

Wei, Christ, Marx and Wood

Made us humble,

Made us good."

* * *

Chapter 6: **Compass**

The wind breathed a sigh beneath his feet, Konohamaru shifted and grabbed a smaller branch. The two genin with the Hyuuga girl were trashed in about as much time as it took Boss to decide what to eat. Her posture sagged for a moment before shouldering her bag once more. The Hyuuga cast a backward glance at the two boys on the ground before sharply grinding over the hill's crest.

His eyes found the two boys on the ground. They really should have known better. Still, he was bothered by the confrontation. Something about it was just painful. Team squabbles were nothing new, and it was something different from seeing her antagonized – she could clearly handle herself in that regard.

"Konohamaru!" Moegi called from the base of the tree. "Why did you run off so fast?"

His blue scarf draped over his shoulder as he leaned over the branch. Udon crunched atop twigs as he joined her. "I just wanted to see the sunset from up here." He tilted his head toward the brilliant pastel colored clouds stretching long across the sky.

"It is very pretty." Moegi stretched a look at it. Konohamaru knew better than to believe she bought the fib. She just knew better than to press him on his random, frivolous excuses. If there was something to discuss that was potentially harmful, they trusted each other to speak openly.

"We should probably start getting our things together." Udon spoke from behind his nose.

A tingling shot through the boy's feet as he streaked toward the ground; sliding with tensed muscles low in a smooth, protracted, and quiet landing. "You're right..." he paused, an idea coming across him. "Last one to The Klanging Kunai buys Ramen!" His shoes grounding into protesting ground as he strained his legs into a vaulting run toward the village.

* * *

"So... How was it meeting your first team?" Shizune panned her eyes across the assembled Konoha Twelve.

Those with discernable expressions either nodded or shrugged. The Fifth's aid was pretty sure the Hyuuga could make a career out of playing poker, if only the Byakugan didn't immediately disqualify them. Danzo's Root operative was unreadable, but that might just be because most of the Root operatives didn't seem to have emotions, opinions, or anything identifiably human. Shikamaru's distant look indicated he was of the opinion that it was too much work to form any other opinion.

"Mine have a long way to go before they are ready to spend any time in the Forest of Death." Tenten spun a kunai on her finger. Shizune couldn't help but compare the younger woman to Anko.

"Honestly, I don't exactly feel comfortable in that place as I am, now." Choji shifted.

"Mine almost blinded me with the polished finish of their headbands." Kiba sighed. Scratched and tarnished headbands were often seen as a sign of ninja maturity and experience.

"Just keep in mind that you all were in their shoes once, too." Yamato smiled. Shizune wasn't sure of his connection to Tsunade - but her sensei trusted him with the life of her adopted grandson - so that spoke volumes.

"When you all outfit yourselves, be sure to think of things that will help in teaching your teams, too." Shizune added.

Nods answered her. She looked to Yamato, who simply tilted his head.

"Alright - see you all at ten tomorrow morning. We'll review equipment before breaking for lunch. You are dismissed." Shizune couldn't help but chuckle at how it sounded in her voice. Having a seat of authority, rather than simply being a factor behind it, was a bit of an interesting change.

* * *

Naruto squinted against the harsh light, the soft crunching of dirt beneath his feet oddly hollow against the buzzing made by some electrical magic. The steady sound muffled and shifted with the dark mass of Hyuuga treading next to him. She was close enough to touch, yet the light seemed a harsh sun upon the buzzing waves between opposite shores.

Naruto turned his head. A few strands of her hair glowed in random streams from the top of her head. "Hey..." He stopped with her. "Can we go somewhere to talk?" He wasn't entirely sure why he was asking, normally he'd just pick something to do and charge ahead.

A set of pale orbs searched his eyes. "Yeah... I'm sorry."

His head shook slightly. "A lot has happened. You don't need to be sorry."

Her eyes shot down into a corner as she nodded. Part of him wished she would simply say what was on her mind, but - that wasn't Hinata's way, and he would prefer that Hinata did things her way. Sense wasn't always logical. "Come on," He smiled, brushing against her hand "I think I know the perfect spot."

His heart beat a sigh as she took his hand. Only then did he realize how much it would have hurt for her to pull away. He wasn't sure why she would - only that it would bring unimaginable pain if she did. He led her across the village, down a newly laid stone path, and out onto a wooden platform.

"Wow... This is beautiful." Hinata released his hand to wander closer to the waterfall. "When did they do this?"

Naruto ran his hands across the stone wall as he walked up beside her. "They just finished it yesterday."

She led him to the railing that overlooked the crater, the two panning their gaze over where the Leaf used to be. A nearby creek had been diverted to dump into the crater, the edge of which had been carved out to make a waterfall. "It's all... Hard to believe." She brought her eyes to his.

"I know... It's kind of weird to have a team of my own." Naruto's mind had always envisioned him as Hokage... Leading a team into danger hadn't exactly been given much thought.

"Oh... That is a bit weird, I guess." Hinata peered over at the waterfall, again.

"You guess?" The notion of leading a team had come as a complete surprise to the blonde.

"Well, it's only natural that as we learn, we would have to teach and guide others. I always knew that I would be expected to, but..." The girl let her words hang.

Naruto would have none of it as he found her hand. "But, what?"

He felt a soft presssure agianst his side as she entwined her arm with his. "I... I always worried I would be no good at it."

"Well," Naruto began, suddenly wary of his voice. "You've already taught me so much that I didn't know I ... Didn't know?" He perked a brow at his own words, eyes finding the stars.

There was a burst of a giggle from the Hyuuga, her weight nudging against him a bit more. The sound of the waterfall washed gently over the two. The silence was comfortable, so long as she was there. Then a familiar sensation whisped at his side.

His chakra answered hers, a thunderous cloud sweeping the horizon of grassy plains. Naruto still wasn't entirely sure how to describe the sensation in human terms. It seemed to be the process of two souls touching. There was no trying to figure out what things meant - they simply meant. There was no comprehending of words as there was nothing to comprehend. It was an experience so full of meaning yet so oddly devoid of structure.

At first, Naruto thought it was just a soothing technique. Then, he realized it was not the technique that was soothing - it was how close it made him feel to him. It was Hinata without any misunderstandings, without complicated language, without any awkwardness.

"I would really like to know what this is." Naruto said as the experience settled.

"I already told you, it's an old Hyuuga technique." She smiled.

"Well... Yeah, but how does it work? Could you teach me to do it, too?" Somehow, Naruto got the sense it was somehow lonely to only be able to initiate such a technique.

"I'm... Not really sure." The Hyuuga quirked her brow. "Well - it is simple enough in how it works. The books explaining it discuss it being a merger of chakra amongst people to allow them to better understand each other." She looked at him. "With enough practice, you can help guide the chakra in another person to heal them. There was even mention of body parts being restored."

Naruto's stomach did a flip. Healing without healing jutsu? Understanding without having to beat the shit out of them? Now he just HAD to learn what this was. "That... That sounds amazing! Please," Naruto dropped to one knee, a deep blush evident on Hinata's face, "Please teach me how to do that."

There was an odd stammering from the girl as he looked up at her. "I-I'll try." She managed, pulling at him as he stood.

"You're the best!" He cheered, pulling her into a hug. There was small sigh from the girl in his arms. She was content? Several emotions bubbled to the surface as he drank of the Hyuuga's contact. The desire to have her in his life, to have her close - that was an easy one to accept. Hinata was a wonderful person and he dared to even say that he felt as if he was at home with her.

The concept of family was a bit new and alien. He still didn't know enough of his own feelings to bring such a subject up with Hinata. He didn't have anything against kids or against having Hinata as a permanent fixture in his home. It was that 'vision' of her as a 'fixture' that made him suspect his vision of home was a rather unhealthy one. He knew that people could be very grounding to each other, but she wasn't a floor lamp.

The other emotion was new and not entirely welcome. It was more primitive, animalistic. His heart would pound and there was a ... Desire ... To steal her away. It was an instinct to claim her, to possess her - to make her his own and bring doom upon anyone contesting that claim. The soft sigh she just gave a moment ago - he'd do anything to get her to do it again... And somehow his mind knew there were even more powerful and gratifying noises he should try to find.

It all just sounded like his mind making excuses to try and be either a jerk or a pervert at Hinata's expense, and Naruto wished to be neither to Hinata.

It was then that Naruto remembered something. "Hey, Hinata..." Naruto's voice came out deeper than he wanted between pounding heart beats.

"Yes?" She looked up at him, her eyes locking on his.

Without word or warning, Naruto dipped in, capturing her lips in what he understood to be a kiss. It was decidedly more pleasant than his memory of kissing Sasuke, an experience he tried to forget - obviously without success. A day full of outdoor activity, training, and briefings left her lips less than the idealized moist and tender depictions Pervy Sage would often put into the books Naruto had to edit. Still, they were soft and full.

He pulled away, gently, letting his gaze fall on the Hyuuga, who simply seemed paralized. "Well, that was it."

"Huh?" She managed, squirming a bit.

"That's how Kurenai-Sensei said to release the genjutsu." Naruto didn't resist as Hinata squirmed out his embrace.

"Th-then..." She stepped back, a flurry of emotions dancing across her face and panic flickering to her eyes.

Naruto reacted on instinct, capturing her hand, calling to her being with the energy that flowed through him. He stepped into her, "But you know what?" He wrapped his arm around her again.

Hinata simply met his eyes again, a more expectant aura radiating from them.

"It didn't work." Naruto barely got the words out as Hinata's face lunged into his own. Apparently, he had a lot to learn as his attempt to receive her kiss resulted in her tongue colliding with his clenched teeth.

* * *

"Okay," the blonde hero said from his position in front of the assembled teams. "Just because we are moving through the Land of Fire doesn't mean we will be safe." Hanabi knew this to be true, but suspected it needed to be explained to the underhive, like those useless bafoons she was teamed with. She was fairly certain an ostrich could have defeated them with little effort. "So," Naruto continued "We will be moving in what is called a rolling rotation."

Now that was new, the Hyuuga suddenly found herself locked onto an implausibly large inky depiction of terrain. "Rather than moving in a line," Several dots representing teams pattered across the terrain , "Only one team will move at a time while the other teams remain in place." The dots suddenly stopped. "The team at the rear will move across all of the space already held by the other teams before setting down a few hundred meters ahead of the first. The new last team in the formation then moves to the front." The dots on the large ... Hanabi realized it was some strange jutsu involving ink and paper - began moving in the described fashion.

"But, Uzumaki-Sensei," One of the girls spoke up. "That will take forever to get anywhere."

"That is right." Hanabi recognized the Nara prodigy as he stepped forward. "It is a strategy for moving a team through hazardous terrain with hostile forces and traps. It is not meant to be exceptionally fast but to expose as little of the force to ambush as possible." He turned back to the illustrative jutsu before turning back to the group. "It is also useful if you do not have a lot of sensory and tracking specialists."

"There are ways to speed it up." Tenten caught a kunai she was spinning. "The number of people in each team can be increased - so we could travel with four groups of three teams instead of twelve individual teams." The number of dots decreased and the group was shown being able to move more frequently and cover more ground. "The other way is to simply not allow only one team to move at a time - by moving after a count of sixty from when the team behind yours passes you, the whole group is able to move much more quickly while still having relatively little risk of exposure."

"Then why are we doing the first?" A voice blurted out.

"Because," Naruto set a foot forward. "You have to learn to walk before you can run." There was a brief pause. "When the lead team sets down, they send a signal back through the line that the last team is good to move forward."

"Or that there are bad guys and ass kicking needs to happen." Kiba ground a fist into his palm.

"Or the team behind the lead team sees the whole group explode and sends word back that it is not safe." Shikamaru rubbed his temples.

"Unless the last team is a bunch of disposable idiots." The oddly pale, genderless teen referred to as 'Sai' said. Hanabi could empathize with that logic. The underhive had its uses. There was a never ending stream of under-skilled people who seemed to believe that they could boast or blame their way into being great ninjas. If they found a trap full of paper bombs - it was the height of their service to the Leaf, in her estimation.

Naruto pinched his brow. "No, Sai, we will not treat our comrades that way."

"You aren't going to knowingly send other teams to their likely deaths like that." Yamato broke in, narrowing his brow across the crowd. "But it is a very harsh reality that we have agreed to face danger and the death it may cause. We will face that danger as a team, though. We will not treat each other like pawns to be sacrificed." His eyes shifted beneath lowered, furled brows. "Do I make myself clear?"

Hanabi echoed her "yes, Yamato-Sensei" like everyone else... But deep down, she didn't really believe it. She'd been on the receiving end of more than a few more-than-hazardous pranks. There were some deep rifts that ran between the different clans and families of the Leaf - and more than a few stories existed of ninja teams compromising each other over various differences and rivalries. Hanabi knew the civility was a thin varnish over the top of a far more crude and barbaric society.

There were useless plebs who would see her killed by a trap just so they could mock the Byakugan or the Hyuuga (if the two could be separate topics in the Leaf). She'd seen it nearly happen before in the 'light hearted jokes' of the Academy Underhive, and expected the trend to continue so long as she still drew breath.

Neji and Hinata had a great diversion amongst their generation in Naruto - who seemed to receive all of the malice in the Leaf.

"Anyway," Shizune stood in front of the display. "Moving like this will give us plenty of time to look over each other's approach and form. It also gives you all time to get to know your teams better." Hanabi cringed at that idea. The two fools she was paired with had been silent, so far, and she'd prefer they remain so. The last thing she needed to hear was about their dream to become Hokage, marry their childhood crush, or earn some kind of fortune. Lofty dreams they just hoped would happen to them rather than focusing on what they needed to do in order to achieve those dreams.

It was a lesson in destiny Cousin Neji had to learn the hard way.

Seeing the two standing side by side, now, she could see what he missed. Neji, the prodigy of the Branch Family, was never supposed to defeat Uzumaki. Neither was Uzumaki supposed to defeat Neji. At least, in the Grand Destiny. The destiny of the mundane was a different story - when Neji chose to reject his own Grand Destiny, it became the mundane destiny of him to lose due to that pride.

As for Uzumaki... You can't really reject a process you don't bother to understand. Given how his Grand Destiny was entwined with Neji... Well... Everyone's - it was only natural that the firmament of the Tao overpower the whim of mortal beings.

The result of the two's confrontation was exactly what it should have been. The two were supposed to grow stronger from each other - and that result was achieved. Even if it took a detour from what would be expected from allies..

But there was something else... A tendril hinting at a much more profound destiny. Hanabi couldn't make it out, and it seemed to shift with each attempt to see into it. The closer the two were, the easier it was to see. Hanabi couldn't say she'd seen anything like it. Her eyes began to strain, and she ceased her attempts at divination. It would be worth researching, later.

"Alright," Lee chanted. Hanabi wasn't sure what left more to the imagination, his suit, or the Byakugan. She was halfway used to her cousin's team mate... But the guy was eccentric if you wanted to put it mildly. Honestly, she couldn't believe Neji hadn't beaten the bejesus out of him on a daily basis. There again... She could also see how it would be wasted effort on someone like Lee. "Our goal for today is one hundred kilometers for the whole group!"

"Really? That's it?" One of the genin quipped.

Hanabi cringed. This would be the part where Lee suggested walking on their hands with their feet encased in lead. "It may not sound like much," Lee started. "But it will require youthful perserverence to hold to the movement strategy we described."

That was an odd, almost pleasant surprise.

"In addition, we will be training relentlessly while waiting for the last team in the rotation to move to the front! The goal is five hundred one-handed push-ups!" And there it was.

"What Lee means," Neji stepped in front of the green jumpsuit "Is that we will be be alternating physical training, jutsu training, and combat drills while waiting. Even during the breaks, we will be going over survival techniques and the fundamentals of large company combat."

"This will be much more intense than any of the training you received in or after the Academy." Naruto's voice carried the hint of a warning. "We are going to help you find your limit, and then show you that you can break that limit."

"You all are no longer just Leaf Ninja." Sakura flipped her pink hair. "You are students of the Konoha Twelve. You are the future of our legacy."

Hanabi thought that an interesting choice of words. On one hand, it was a bit melodramatic. On the other hand, it was somewhat moving to feel 'claimed' as a student. Most of her teachers had seemed more concerned about the subject or the job than the future of the students.

She'd had the teachers who tried to pay attention to her wellbeing... But they weren't much better. They were little more than babysitters. It seemed refreshing for someone to be thinking about preparing her for the future instead of trying to make her happy or just going through the motions.

"All of us," The familiar Akamichi began, "carry with us the teachings, stories, knowledge, and legacy of our senseis. Some of them are no longer with us and all that remains of them are the people who remember them." His eyes seemed to hover over the boy with the blue scarf for a moment. "What is entrusted to you all is not just our knowledge or legacy. It is everything we retain from those who taught us, who had their own teachers as well. It is a legacy we were entrusted to continue - a legacy now extended to you."

"Kakashi Hatake." Yamato began, his voice almost deafening across the grass. "Kurenai Yuhi. Maito Gai. Lord Jiraiya. Tsunade Senju. Asuma Sarutobi. Danzo Shimura. Many of you recognize those names, and those ninja taught at least one within the group of Chunin that has been placed in charge of you."

Hanabi was relatively familiar with those names. Any one of them were potential candidates for Hokage. Jiraiya and Tsunade were legends unto themselves - each of the notorious Team Seven were personally instructed by one of the three legendary Sanin. The Uchiha being currently absent for obvious reasons.

She could practically feel the paradigm shift in the crowd of Genin, though. The speech seemed to have struck a chord, and Hanabi found herself being swept up in the warm tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach despite her awareness.

"Genin!" Shizune bellowed. "On your team lead!"

All of the young ninja sprinted to stand with their assigned leader. As Hanabi neared the blonde who would be her team leader, she knew that the whole of the ninja world was about to change.

* * *

Shizune sat silently in her tree branch. She pushed chakra to her ears to enhance her hearing.

"What do you mean you can't use ninjutsu?" A girl with dark brown spikes for hair tilted her head.

"I just can't mold chakra." Lee explained. "Ninjutsu requires one be able to mold chakra and despite my greatest and most sincere of efforts, I have been unable to perform a single ninjutsu."

This was what Shizune was waiting for. Teaching Ninjutsu would be quite a task for Lee. However...

"So how are we supposed to learn Ninjutsu from you?" A boy with long, bound platinum hair sat with crossed arms on a stump.

"Yeah - what ninjutsu could you possibly teach us?" The girl fired back.

Lee seemed to ponder for a moment. "A challenge, then."

"A what?" A dark haired boy said, standing from his lean against a tree.

"I will recommend you be transferred to a new team leader once you can defeat me with Ninjutsu or Genjutsu." Lee let his tone drop.

"You're on!" The girl shouted, centering her posture and forming hand signs.

"Too slow." Lee appeared behind her, rested a hand on her shoulder, and shoved the girl laterally into a tree. "And too obvious. Genjutsu is a hundred times harder to pull off when an opponent is aware of what variety it is."

Shizune knew that was true enough. Genjutsu often exploited the illusion of being aware. It was far easier to convince someone that the leaves of a tree are blue if they are not trying to pay attention to the trees. There was an old academy trick that was done for the sake of her class. When given the task of keeping track of who was 'it' in a game of tag amongst another class, one of the teachers dressed up as a dancing bear and danced through the game of tag, waved at the class, and danced out.

About half of the class noticed. The other half didn't. It displayed how important it was to keep the target unaware of the presence of the Genjutsu. For genjutsu to work against an opponent wary of it, it had to be subtle and believable.

Convincing a man in the desert that he was suddenly under the shade of a maple tree in autumn would be next to impossible even if he didn't have the slightest amount of awareness of genjutsu. Sure - you could make him see the image - but he wouldn't believe it.

Exceptionally powerful genjutsu users could completely overpower the senses and essentially overwrite reality. Kurenai was capable of such feats - but her specialty was in actually convincing the man in the desert that he was under the shade of a maple tree in autumn. That is what made her such a notorious genjutsu expert.

Someone like Naruto could learn a genjutsu and force you to see whatever the illusion was supposed to be - and good luck breaking it if you were anything short of a Kage. But no one would believe what they were seeing was real. It was only useful for white-washing reality, not really getting someone to believe anything other than what they were seeing was not right.

Two slabs of ground raised up, smashing Lee between two sod-covered wafers of ground. The impromptu structure crumbled not seconds after it formed. Lee leveled his gaze at the platinum haired boy. "Chakra that is poorly molded will not support a useful attack." Another pair of slabs slammed against him, crumbling moments later. "You can keep that up all day, with chakra molding like that, I do not need to do anything."

Two silver streaks shot from one of the shrubs, Lee jumped clear of a pair of kunai before the force of an explosion jolted through Shizune's bones. Some kind of storage seal with paper bombs embedded. Shizune smiled. This team had quite a bit of potential.

"Not bad." Lee kicked kid-and-shrub across the clearing. "But how many more of those have you got?" He rounded on the platinum haired earth release user. "And don't expect to be ignored the whole fight!" The green jumpsuited ninja charged the boy, pivoting on his ankle to kick - only to have his feet slip right from under him, twisting to fall on his stomach.

"Ha!" The boy pumped his fist before a pair of feet slammed into his face. Lee had rebounded, vaulting with his hands to kick the boy into the tree limbs, above.

"A most excellent display of youthful adaptation!" Lee cheered into the branches. "An ability that does not require precise chakra formation. But my flames of youth adapt as well!"

Shizune stiffled a chuckle. These kids were all given to Lee because their techniques were all lacking in execution. In terms of knowledge, they were at the tip of the spear and able to pull off techniques well beyond their years. They only lacked the discipline to hone those abilities into anything useful. If there was any ninja who knew something about perseverence - or how one could do ninjutsu wrong - it was Lee. By the time they could complete Lee's challenge, they would have learned exactly what Lee was supposed to teach them.

* * *

Yamato sighed. Keeping 'quiet tabs' on the Hyuuga heiress and her cousin would be one hell of a tall order. Still, for the time being, she seemed to not notice him. Granted, that was likely because she wasn't concerned about looking for him.

"Why" The Sarutobi boy grunted "Are" He panted, straining to slide his body to the side.

"You are doing this because it is an excellent way to build core body strength." The Hyuuga furled her brow at the team, scooting along the ground sideways, hands clasped across their chests, ankles crossed with legs and heads elevated.

"But..." The boy ducked his chin against his scarf to look at the Hyuuga. "We must have done this for a hundred meters, already."

"And you have another two hundred to go." The Hyuuga folded her arms.

"Ugh..." Konohamaru flopped, instantly yelping to a scrunch.

"Feet off the ground." Hinata almost sang, pulling her hand back from the boy's leg.

"But three hundred meters?" The orange haired girl panted.

"You were told to call out every human contact when we made our movement. You all passed by three teams, _in combat drills_, without so much as a glance." The young woman glared down at her team. "And we will do this again - one hundred meters for every missed team - each time we move. If you are not going to be smart enough to see the enemy, you will be strong enough to stomp right through their traps."

"But I thought Udon was-" Sarutobi started.

"One hundred meters for every person your team misses." The Hyuuga interrupted. "You will crawl on your backs all the way to Uzushiogakure and come back walking on your fingers if that is what it takes."

Yamato slowly made his way away from the team. He was a little concerned about how Hinata would handle the somewhat rambunctious team - but it seemed the two would get along well enough.

* * *

Hanabi braced herself against a tree. She'd heard the stories. Her sister would praddle endlessly about how amazing he was over the years. Hell - the crater that used to be a village stood as a testament to the kind of insane chakra that was Naruto Uzumaki.

But you didn't really have a clue of just what that meant until you experienced it first hand. Whatever chakra utilizing techniques they had, they were practicing destroying trees with them. And true to what she'd heard about Naruto, he was right there with them, shadow clones and all, pounding Rasengan after Rasengan into trees.

He was easily expending chakra at six times the rate they were, and he didn't seem to even feel it. Her team wasn't quite as useless as she'd first thought. Mushu was pretty decent at using chakra-enhanced strikes. Ban had some interesting ability involving a blast of raw chakra. It needed a considerable amount of work, though. As it was, his future capped at being a replacement for a leaf blower.

"Where..." Mushu panted. "Where did you get so much chakra, Sensei?"

"Hmm..." The blonde pondered for a moment. "I have always had the Nine Tails sealed inside me, so that gave me a good start. But that was just a start." He paused. "There are a lot of nights I would train by myself until I woke up in my bed without any memory of how I got there."

Hanabi was't surprised. Hinata could be the same way after a secret admiration session. "You... We aren't going to train that hard, are we?" Ban panted next to her.

She looked back at the tree she had been striking, setting her brow. The Hyuuga relaxed for a moment, feeling her chakra shift and build as a torrent in her stomach. Her body seemed to lurch, her body following the flow of her chakra as she drove her hand violently into the tree and the chakra lanced through her fingers.

It was unusual for the Hyuuga to use much chakra. The whole concept of the Gentle Fist was to direct the flow of energy, naturally, to the place where it belonged. Since something like a tree wasn't using much energy that could be redirected, using the gentle fist on it was not what would be called 'optimal.' Still, there were times when nature could be violent, could be destructive.

There was a loud snap as her chakra lanced into the tree, bits of bark exploded off the opposite side, embedding into the ground. "We should train," A gentle gust of wind brushed her hair, a grinding noise came from the tree before her voice fought against snapping branches "as if our opponent is as strong as Pain." Her feet jarred slightly as the tree hit the ground.

To be completely honest with herself, she was jealous of Hinata's determination. It was true that she was usually able to defeat Hinata in a spar, but Hanabi still felt like she was missing something, like there was a strength her sister had that she didn't. It was that strength that seemed to allow her to achieve even in failure.

* * *

His breath drew long, an old habit from when his lungs could 'taste' the air. Decades had passed since he last felt the burning lack of air, or the sweet relief of it. Much was given in service, such that the man could no longer smell the ancestral prayer grounds in which he stood. Should anyone consider him to still be human, that is.

In his service, his lord agreed to stay the hand of death from Hidan. The once-man was still not quite sure how Jashin had arranged his liberation from the pit – but it was only proper to journey to the grounds of the lord who had seen fit to deliver his servant from imprisonment.

Hidan drew his foot in a triangle before tracing his foot in a triangle inscribed within the circle. There were many variations to the ritual depending upon what one was doing. Hidan threw himself prostrate to the ground within the symbol evoking the celestial guidance of Jashin. Surely, there had to be a reason for Jashin to free him.

Jashin could have easily left Hidan in the hole. Yet the deity had interceded. Jashin did not reward service with mortal pleasantries. It was not that Hidan had been so great at killing that Jashin simply freed him to do the same thing. Jashin was demanding more from him.

Hidan rose, gazing across the grounds. Another man knelt before a blooming field of flowers. Jashin was but one of the gods the various families of his homeland recognized. Each family lineage pledged its service to a different deity. Long before Hidan, his family took service under Jashin. This man was from the family serving Atargatis – goddess of fertility.

All the good it did him. His wife was known to be barren. Perhaps it was a condition that could be treated or somehow alleviated, but the tribal lands of Hidan's true home simply didn't have the capacity that the larger nations and villages had. The people here would live much as they had for centuries, packing goods from the harbors of one great nation to the warehouses of another great nation while bludgeoning each other upside the head over which family's god brought the most benefit.

He saw much in his time with the Akatsuki. While he was really only interested in killing, he couldn't help but learn a few things about the rest of the world. The Akatsuki was held together by strict rules and the power to punish those who broke those rules. Despite the fact that the men of the Akatsuki could act independently against entire nations, they could all work together without killing each other.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Hidan found out the hard way that Kakuzu's … unique condition … made Jashin's ritual of limited use for killing Kakuzu. For his part, Kakuzu found out that Jashin's powers were superior to any Ninja's.

Hidan's thoughts drifted to the Ninja. It was certainly true that they fought with each other and were suspicious of each other... but they, too, had rules that were established by their Kage, who reportedly trace those ideals back to the mythical Sage of Six Paths. There was a hegemony. There was a clear distinction of who must follow whom.

But the Sage died. Whatever his lessons truly were had been lost. The Kage used their influence to strengthen their own villages at the expense of trust among others. The Akatsuki sought to use the power of the Ten Tails to bludgeon the other nations into submission, but the last Hidan heard, nearly everyone from the Akatsuki was dead. Even their leader, a man with the arrogance to claim to be a god (albeit, Hidan had to admit that if any man were to have enough power to make that claim...), was defeated.

But there was one God that Hidan did know exist... and... Hidan finally understood.

There was no God but Jashin, and he, Hidan, was to become Jashin's messenger.

* * *

The dim light of the moon cast long valleys of shadow across the bed of the forest. Crickets sang an endless rain of chirps, a pulsating blood of nature. The ninja deployment laid strewn through the underbrush, the occasional rustling of a twitch. Three of of the Konaha Twelve, he knew, were also up. Four night watch sections.

In time, they would require the genin to stand watch. Sleep was a valuable thing. Peaceful sleep was quite literally to die for. But, these first few days were going to be hardest on the genin not used to any of the demands currently placed on them. There would be a time to push them beyond the breaking point, but all things in due time.

A small rustle caused him to shift. Shizune stood at the base of the tree he occupied. A moment later, she appeared at his side, seating herself next to him. "It's my turn for this, now." She sighed. "You should get some sleep while you still can."

Yamato eyed her carefully. There was a slight slack in her movements, a hollow look behind her eyes. "You didn't get much sleep, did you?"

"I..." She met his eyes a moment before looking back down. "Not really." She sighed. "Sleep doesn't come very naturally to me, these days."

"You sure you are up for another twenty hours of fun?" Sleep, as Yamato had heard, was for the dead.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" She gazed out across the 'camp,' a small frown visible on her ... Yamato put an end to the admiration.

"I'm giving you one." It wouldn't be the first time he stayed up multiple days in a row.

Shizune turned, tilting her head a moment. "No," She jumped at her own voice. "I couldn't," she hunched, her voice quieting, "I couldn't ask that of you."

"I didn't hear you ask." He felt a smile pull at his mouth.

Movement caught both of their attention. "Looks like their turn-overs are going like they should." The hollow look was gone as she took in the sight of the two Hyuuga briefly exchanging words. Yamato honestly thought he lucked out. A force this size moving with three Hyuuga was a blessing.

"Yeah, but we will have to make sure they still develop as if they didn't have a personal Hyuuga." He sighed. "Too many good things and you aren't ready for the bad."

"Hey!" Shizune nudged. "Look at that!"

Yamato followed her emphatic nod. "Huh, Kakashi would love to see this." No sooner had Hinata been relieved from watch than she slipped over to the bush Naruto was sleeping under.

The teen gently reached through, presumably giving the blonde a gentle nudge, possibly a carress. There was a stir from the blonde before a pair of hands pulled the girl down next to him. There was a bit of rustling as she almost fully disappeared under the bush before the two laid still.

"Now isn't that adorable?" Shizune sang.

Yamato was a bit more skeptical. "Do you think it will become a distraction?"

Shizune shrugged. "It's hard to say." There were a few quiet moments. "I think, right now, they mostly find comfort in each other."

"Even so, they can't show preference..." He stopped at the way Shizune looked at him. He couldn't quite place it; mouth slightly agape, head tilted, brow lifted.

"Do you honestly think you are going to over-ride millions of years of evolutionary instinct with a few stern words?" She turned to square with him more properly. "People with those types of feelings for each other almost always think of the other first. It is like a reflex."

"There are times when the needs of the team outweigh the needs of the person." Yamato sighed. Few things in life could drive a man to illogical insanity quite like the thought of his partner being in danger. For a guy like Naruto - that meant a crater the size of Konoha was one such possible illogical insanity.

"The team needs a whole Naruto." Shizune was looking at the ground. "And besides - it will only be a distraction to make Naruto worry about whether or not this new experience for him is disruptive to his friends." She paused. "I really doubt his friends will let him get away with giving them the short end of the stick, either. Let's see how they handle it-" She gave a high moan into her yawn "-as a team."

Yamato gave a small chuckle. "You sound quite a bit like the Third, right now, you know?"

A small "Hmm..." was all he got in response.

He gave the pair another glance. Ninjas lived hard lives. That Naruto's graduating class had survived some four years without a death was nothing short of miraculous. By all accounts, Naruto should have died just a few weeks ago. Hinata, too. Most of the village actually did die... Wasn't that kind of comfort what they fought, bled, and died for on a daily basis?

He wondered what Hiashi would think about all of this. The Hyuuga were, if anything, regimented. Hinata seemed to be about as close to what people understood to be 'normal' as the Hyuuga got. Rumor had it that many within the Hyuuga considered her something of a black sheep.

Hanabi was supposed to be a prodigy the likes of which could rival Neji. She did seem well ahead of her peers in terms of ability, but there seemed to be something off about her. Or maybe she was just as normal as Hinata was and just reacting to the Hyuuga in the opposite extreme.

He flinched with a soft pressure on his shoulder. "Well..." He sighed, finding the source of the contact. Shizune, apparently, was finally getting some sleep.

* * *

"I am worried about my team..." Naruto looked into the glowing embers. A total of three days of travel, now. The genin were all down by the river washing clothing and preparing the day's catches for cooking.

"I think we are all worried about our teams. It is what leaders do." Choji poked at the fire, sending sparks swirling into the inky abyss.

"Yeah, but it is not like you to worry, Naruto." Sakura propped her jaw on her hands. "What is bugging you?"

"They just... Don't seem to match." He sighed. Memories of the sparing matches over the past couple days came to mind. "Hanabi is just in another league compared to the other two. It is worse than when I went up against Neji in the Chunin exams. Mushu has some real potential in Ninjutsu with some good instncts when it comes to chakra. Ban would be excellent at form type ninjutsu, like the Rasengan. But none of them seem to be able to really train as a team." Naruto paused, trying to find the words.

Hanabi would just slaughter them in a spar. She wasn't as dark as Sasuke, but was about as tolerant of her team. Hanabi really needed someone of his class's caliber to really give her any useful training. Mushu and Ban were a bit more to each other's skill, but they required very different training.

"Relax." Shikamaru strained to look at the blonde from his position on his back. "We will start combined training and sparing with the teams." He reclined. "Things will shake up a bit." He paused. "Which reminds me; Lee, has your team been successful in their transfer request?"

"Their youth burns bright, indeed, but it must be even brighter before they are ready to transfer!" Lee pumped a fist from his seat on a log.

"That means 'No.'" Tenten translated.

"Do you think they will want to once they do?" Kiba asked, patting Akamaru's head.

"Hard to say." Shino folded his arms while propped against a tree. "That is, if they are ever successful at that task."

"I believe their youth will one day be bright enough to light their future!" Lee flexed his arm. Unlike the others, Naruto couldn't say he found Lee's attitude to be ... Well, anything other than what it was.

"How are Naruto's old terrors?" Naruto bristled a bit at how Ino spoke.

"Well," Naruto's eyes turned to gaze on the source of the small voice. "They are getting much better at paying attention while moving. Sakura's team has been setting down some good traps for them to get some practice on." She smiled at Naruto. "Their fighting skills are at least on par with most of our teams at the onset of the Chuunin Exams and their teamwork is exceptional." Naruto couldn't help but puff his chest a bit.

"That is good to hear." Shikamaru reclined. "We will end up leaning on the more advanced teams to bring the rest of the group up to standard."

Naruto's eyes settled on the coals of the fire. Voices dawled into a muffle against the pops and chatter of the feasting flames. The way the glowing streams churned and swept reminded him of the Kyuubi's chakra, for some reason. It squeezed the life from the wood like the Kyuubi's chakra drew the life from his bones. What power... But what cost.

"Well, I believe that covers everything." Shikamaru stood, breaking Naruto's wandering. The Nara brushed the strands of undergrowth from his pants, casting an angled brow at Ino.

Yamanaka tucked the hand full of grass behind her.

"I will go retrieve the genin." Sai turned to leave.

Sakura straightened. "I will go with you." The pinkette strethed before walking to join the former ROOT operative.

"I guess I had better see what they rustled up to eat." Choji stood, tilting his head at the gazes cast his way. "Hey, I am just trying to make my stereotype useful, here." A round of chuckles broke out.

"Good ol' Choji." Shikamaru smiled. "He can roll with anything."

"Damn right." The Akimichi thumped his armor before joining Sai and Sakura.

Naruto scratched his scalp, noting a distinctly greasy feel. "I am going to find some place to wash." He stood, casting a glance across the scattering group. No one raised protest, or seemed to notice. The blonde scrounged through his pack, locating his change of clothes and hygeine kit.

His bathing gear in hand, the blonde let his feet wander in the direction downstream of where the genin were. He didn't like what happened when he got tired. His mind easily became a jumbled mess of pointless worry - or, worse, depression. Sleep was in short supply, and only rarely was it uninterrupted. Two hours asleep, two hours on watch, four hours asleep or some similar combination.

He found himself drawing closer to the gentle rumble of what had to be a small waterfall. He moved carefully around a fallen log, his foot fell heavy against flat stones. The sillouette of a particularly large willow swept gently across the far bank. It wasn't far to the waterfall - just tall enough to stoop his head under.

He stashed his gear on the nearby bank, and peeled his clothes free from his body. The blonde eased himself under the waterfall, cringed at the rush of clashing with his skin, and reveled as the grit left his skin. A shampoo-assisted scrub of his hair and similar scrubbing of his body, later, Uzumaki deemed himself clean to the point of indulgence.

He considered, for a moment, using a wind based jutsu to blast the water free from his body. Surely, a ninja with such a nature was capable of it. Yet, Jiraiya always cautioned against using ninjutsu for every day life. Now that he thought about it - the perv never seemed to use a transformation jutsu to peep on women when it would have been very easy to do so, particularly in areas not used to dealing with ninja.

He scrapped the thought as he grabbed his towel and scrubbed it briskly accross his hair. It was amazing, he thought, at how much good it did just to be able to feel air on your scalp. It was a toss-up as to what was worse, having poopy pants, or having hair thick with grease. It was like every time a fly would show interest in his hair, he couldn't help but feel as if it believed it had found a pile of poop floating in the air.

The blonde ruffled his bangs before he reached for his underwear. A small splash sounded from farther down the stream. He readied himself, stalking softly on bare feet across the mossy rocks. The stream made a small bend around a hedge-like bush. He crouched to peer between the branches.

The stream emptied several meters away into a small pond. The surface shimmered in the pale light and Naruto searched carefully for any source of the disturbance. Perhaps a frog?

As if to answer his question, a dark mass burst through the surface, spraying drops of silver as a long, dark thong whipped through the air. Something about the scene seemed familiar. His thoughts abruptly halted as a hard shove connected with his back. He fought a scream as he tore through the bush and tumbled, undignified, face-first into the stream.

* * *

Cool dimples danced across Konohamaru's skin while streaks of warmth slid from beneath his hair. The young Sarutobi swept his dark bangs away from his vision, the soaked strands clung to his skin. The water fell thick enough to be a fog across the grassy clearing. The opposing team stood across from his own, poised for the single-elimination tournament about to play out.

Boss had originally opposed the idea of a tournament, but Konohamaru argued adamantly for it. It would be good to be able to see signs of progress from training together, right?

Speaking of the Boss, the Sarutobi afforded the blonde a glance, Hinata-Sensei was standing so close to him that she may as well be leaning against him. Not that Konohamaru had any problems with it, but it was somewhat unusual for the two.

The second Hyuuga on the field finished tying her hair back against her neck. Long hair was a convenient leash rooted to one's head. Konohamaru looked at the other two on Boss's team; both teens seemed to be shivering, though the Sarutobi couldn't tell if it was in anticipation, anxiety, or a combination of both. Unless something miraculous had ocurred, the toughest challenge there was the Hyuuga girl.

He studied the girl for a moment, recalling how quickly she'd downed the two on her team. The deep frown she wore on her face, then, was gone. Yet, her eyes were still searching, her posture angled on edge.

His attention snapped to his side as someone brushed him. "Konohamaru," Moegi nudged "is something wrong?"

"It's nothing." He forced a smile.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Alright, but just letting you know that you are going to creep her out."

Sarutobi just let silence serve as a response. He could argue that he wanted to see what was in the Hyuuga's mind... But no amount of staring would accomplish that. Not that her face was bad to look at.

"Alright..." Boss stated, hammering his palm. "What do you say, Hanabi? Are you ready to go first?"

Sarutobi recognized the tone the blonde ninja was using. Some kind of prank was afoot. The boy's eyes remained on the Hyuuga as she shrugged, declining a verbal response. Where was the girl entranced in the old tome?

"In that case," The older Hyuuga quirked her mouth "I believe the best match up would be Konohamaru." Hinata's eyes locked onto his.

"Uh..." Konohamaru found himself in a truly unusual state. Competitive as he was, he honestly had no desire to fighting this girl. Yet, he still looked forward to the opportunity to be near her. "I mean... Sure." He forced a smile at the older Hyuuga.

Boss and Hinata spared each other a glance. "The rest of you come on over here with us." The blonde motioned.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Moegi was paused, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah." He smiled. "Just worry about the other two."

* * *

The Byakugan was ... Well, Hanabi was quite certain it was not human. The world around her became present. That was the best way to describe it. Her mind was still singular, she couldn't focus on more than one thing per se, but she was still aware of anything she needed to focus her vision or actions on.

She lowered into the familiar stance of the Gentle Fist. She found the boy in front of her interesting. She would have taken his hesitancy as fear if arrogance could blind her. His own stance was confident, his center of gravity low, his eyes focused... Her sister must have picked him for more reasons than just that.

Her wrist quirked. Standing here wouldn't get this chore of a fight out of the way. If he wouldn't be the aggressor, she would.

Closing the distance as a Hyuuga was not a simple affair, especially over open terrain. The Gentle Fist lent itself more to defense than offense, but a brazen approach could often be the least expected and consequently most successful. Failure to seize the initiative could be just as fatal as failing to be cautious.

**[Fairy Tail OST Volume 4; Disk 2; Track 25 "Champion of Magic" - YouTube Reference: v=UceabzTa7Jc]**

Hanabi leaned to charge as her vision snapped to the Sarutobi dashing at a wide angle to her right. She slid her vision across his chakra coils, confirming they were not cycling for a jutsu-based attack. Still, she remained planted; she didn't figure the boy for a complete fool.

His entry into close quarters was a textbook 30-degree approach on her shoulders. The Hyuuga weaved between a set of strikes she could only describe as 'searching,' returning a few curious probes of her own. She wanted-

Sarutobi broke his linear momentum, shifting weight onto his outside leg. Hanabi swept her right leg, throwing her hip into the boy's pelvis. His chakra coils cycled as he lost balance. She struck at two points, preparing her fingers to impact a log if she was too slow. The familiar sense of striking a body hinted at her success, except-

Sarutobi was falling upside-down through the air, her strikes having connected with parts of his shoulder and his chakra system was unscathed. She allowed confusion to fluster her long enough for him to flail to the ground. Both his smirk and another presence simultaneously entered her consciousness. _Different!_

Hanabi threw herself into an exaggerated pivot as a second, identical Sarutobi streaked through where she had been standing. _A clone? But... _The Hyuuga wasted no time as the new Sarutobi presence rounded on her. He ran directly toward the Hyuuga in a manner that could only be described as reckless. Clones were, after all, disposable.

Hanabi struck first, cutting a steep angle on the boy's approach. She unleashed a flurry of six strikes as they passed each other, feeling each strike something oddly solid. No sooner was he out of arm's reach before her vision snapped to the rapidly evaporating chakra network. Just as she thought, it was a clone.

She began to sweep her consciousness in on the remaining Sarutobi before her mind snapped back to the cloud of dissolving clone. Small flakes of chakra-infused ash were billowing out from the destroyed entity. The girl leaped into a somersault on reflex, covering her head as she sprawled flat on the grass when her knowledge of Asuma caught up with her.

A pang of embarrassment stung in her gut. By her age, Neji had unraveled the workings of the Palm Revolving Heaven. Here she was, a noble Hyuuga, laying on the ground like a helpless-

There was a loud sizzling noise accompanied by a warming sensation on her skin. Her mind snapped to the flakes of chakra-ash... they were releasing their energy far too slowly to be called an explosion. _Did he..._ The Hyuuga shot up to a defensive stance.

Her vision snapped on the boy's chakra coils cycling once again. She took in the three new entities, clearly a set of clones. The process followed what she understood to be the Shadow Clone jutsu.

Sarutobi took a moment to massage his shoulder. "No matter how many times I heard Boss go on about what a Hyuuga's strikes felt like," the boy narrowed his brow with a frown at the spot "and even after Hyuuga-sensei's training... this still hurts." He gave it a casual flick with his finger.

"Out of ash clones?" Hanabi wasn't quite sure why she was bothering to talk, but it somehow seemed improper to ignore the boy.

Sarutobi shrugged. "Well, it still doesn't work as advertised." The clones split away from each other in a dash, running a wide arc around her. "These work just as well for punching." Hanabi wasn't sure what to make of the smile he flashed her.

The clones closed in all at once and the original followed with his assault, as well. Hanabi slid to her left between two attacking clones, delivering a swift jab to the kidney of one. The original closed with the third clone in tow. The Hyuuga slid to her left again, sending a flurry of strikes into the original just as she saw the chakra coils cycle.

Shadow clones, Hanabi thought, had a strange texture to them. They were real-enough until the chakra-infused strikes of a Hyuuga unraveled them at the point of contact. However Sarutobi was doing it, he was apparently using a substitution jutsu with his shadow clones. _Unusual..._

She was pretty sure he'd swapped places with the most distant clone, but wouldn't bet her life on it. As the two closer shadow clones tried to close her into a pincer, it seemed just as effective to strike the clones as it was to attack the original. Hanabi dropped low, sliding back and right to sweep at the rearmost clone's legs. It failed, but she vaulted at the second clone in mid-turn without pausing.

Her finger connected with the clone, and yet the apparition failed to yield to her surge of chakra. _The real-?_

The other clone was closing behind her. Throwing her hip hard into the boy's pelvis, she rotated, sliding under an out-stretched arm, chakra coils cycling, to deliver a sharp jab to -_His back!?_ Again, the apparition failed to disperse.

She felt her mouth tighten at the realization. _This crazy..._ She went to press her attack on the boy in front of her before a sharp blow connected to her left side. A brief moment of pained weightlessness followed with a practiced roll onto the ground. Hanabi recovered to her feet, forcing a couple breaths through the muscles threatening to spasm. Just what the hell kind of insanity leads one to substitute into the place of their clones?

Although, Hanabi set her facial expression against the pain in her side, the ploy certainly worked. It might also explain his sudden upside-down appearance, earlier. _This is not going to be pretty... _If she could pin the original down with multiple strikes...

The three remaining Sarutobi were closing the distance, again. As they came within arm's reach, the Hyuuga struck a violent flurry at the one closest to her left. Just as before, the real Sarutobi appeared in its place. She grunted as the last fell between two chakra nodes. If she could-

The other clone slammed its shoulder into her back, forcing her disengage in a somersault. Hanabi recovered, throwing a flurry of strikes into the nearest clone. As she felt her first set connect, the Hyuuga prepared to target his chakra nodes just as she became aware of the kick about to connect. She gave a grunt of frustration as she disengaged, moving clear of both the kick and any counter from the real Sarutobi.

The clones were already moving to intercept once again, and Hanabi was rapidly growing frustrated. Throwing chakra into her legs, the girl vaulted backward a solid twenty meters. The slight tingling in her belly was all she needed to know her chakra reserves were beginning to run low. If they were going to use incomplete techniques...

The young Hyuuga relaxed, searching through the distance for the 'nothing' that held what wasn't. She wasn't entirely sure she understood what it was she was doing. The mechanics of the empty palm made enough sense, but the actual act... she still knew she was not doing something right. Still, she needed range.

Her mind snapped to focus as she felt the strike that wasn't and poured her chakra into bringing it forth. As she thrust her palm outward, however, she felt a massive force pull on her chakra network. _Shit! _It was too late – The original Konohamaru was immediately slammed into a ballistic arc that carried him out of the clearing and into the forest beyond. Both of the clones dispersed almost immediately.

The girl's stomach sank with the falling boy. She strained her Byakugan, but everything faded to the haze of her range limit before she could spot him. She knew she should be doing something, but her mind was frozen. Had she just killed someone from her own village?

Her mind snapped to Hinata; Naruto's hand coming down on her shoulder as she stepped forward. "If you want to beat him, you are going to have to go after him." The blonde smiled. Her sister's Byakugan flared before her tension dropped. Just what the hell was this Sarutobi boy made of?

The girl made her way to the edge of the forest, keeping her Byakugan fed with a dwindling supply of chakra. The tingling had spread to her waist and shoulders, now. She understood, now, with the amount of chakra Sarutobi was throwing around, why she was being trained to build her reserves. Naruto was expected to have inhumanly monstrous amounts of chakra, but Sarutobi forced her to accept just how meager her own supplies were. Not that a Hyuuga typically needed much chakra...

She hardly noticed the tingling sensation when she found him. He was on the branch of a tree, an indistinguishable clone propped against the trunk. Or the other way around. That was the trouble with being indistinguishable.

"Alright, for the finish?" The boy propped against the tree straightened.

He seemed no worse for the wear, a slight streak of guilt pierced her gut; "I … didn't mean to overdo it."

"Well, I did kick you in the side pretty hard." The boy offered. "I suppose I deserve it." He scratched the back of his head.

The Hyuuga felt her eyebrow tweak. She would have to make sure she properly apologized for potentially killing him, later. As solid as he apparently was, she had been willing to gamble with far more than she should have.

"Okay!" The boy on the branch extended his arm and his chakra network exploded with activity. To the eyes of the Hyuuga, a Rasengan was a construct truly worthy of marvel. After hearing her sister describe it to her countless times, Hanabi could gain a new appreciation for watching it form, fold, and swirl. _It's... more like an extension of the chakra circulation system..._

She saw the presence of their observers and straightened into a stance. The Sarutobi with a Rasengan charged recklessly toward her. Given what had been going on earlier, she gave up guessing as to whether it was the original or not. She'd just finger-poke whatever got close enough.

As the rasengan approached, she noticed the other Sarutobi begin approaching quickly. If she had to guess... She struck at the form with the Rasengan. As expected, she connected with the real Sarutobi, the clone still charging from the previous Sarutobi's position. She had to maneuver to avoid the charging Rasengan, taking her out of range of the original.

Again, she struck at the clone, only to connect with the real Sarutobi. Closing off his chakra points like this was out of the question, and the constant shifting of position made it unrealistic to slip around that rasengan to dispel the clone – and if he created another one... Hanabi unleashed a flurry of strikes against the clone, again. She'd been shattering rocks the other day, if he wanted to get in the way, she'd make it hurt.

The Hyuuga grunted as the twisted around the original Sarutobi. The quarters were rapidly shrinking into sandwich range. The world spun slightly as she threw chakra into her legs. Regaining her bearings, Hanabi thrust herself into the air, catching the limb to gaze down at the boy from an upside-down perch.

Sarutobi wasted no time. The original ran up the side of a nearby tree. The clone simply stood, Rasengan in hand, beneath her. She caught sight of the real Sarutobi jumping down toward her as his plan dawned on her.

She suddenly fought the impulse to vomit. The tingling in her toes and fingers suddenly became a burning sensation as the world around her spun. Her vision snapped back to normal and her hold on the tree released. One Sarutobi was plummeting toward her, the other was leaping up to her, Rasengan extended. It was purely kinetic what would happen. The Rasengan couldn't dispel in time.

Before her vision faded, the Konohamaru below her suddenly shifted. His hand wrapped around her wrist before she felt her course alter. There was a blue flash before there was simply black. _Why...?_

[end track]

* * *

"So, how are our training casualties doing?" The voice... Shikamaru?

"Konohamaru was the worst off among them." Ino... No, Haruno – Sakura. "Seriously, what the hell did you let those kids do, Naruto?"

Even without opening his eyes, he could almost see the blonde shrug. "He and Hanabi were sparing."

"And you didn't call it off? The boy is one giant bruise!" There was a sigh. "And Hanabi – does she even know how close to dead she pushed her chakra reserves?"

"How would I know? She hasn't woken up, yet." Boss's voice expressed only sincerity.

There was a tense pause before Shikamaru raised his voice. "Okay, okay – we will talk with the two of them when they are conscious and up for it.

Konohamaru wasn't really sure there was much to explain. Couldn't two ninja cut loose with each other a little? They didn't get too- the boy's thoughts froze as pain shot through his side at the attempt to shift. Well... maybe they did take it a bit too far. But Sarutobi honestly doubted either he or the Hyuuga girl would have seen it that way if Boss or his girl had intervened.

"Still, the way I hear it, Konohamaru pretty much soloed himself." _There_ was the voice of the Yamanaka.

"I don't know if I would say that..." Boss's voice was searching.

"I'm actually kind of impressed. Did you teach him to layer a substitution on top of a shadow clone jutsu, Naruto?" The Inuzuka... Kiba, was it?

There was a sound of shifting clothing. "No... I can't really do the substitution jutsu. Not that I have any idea how to make it work with a shadow clone jutsu. … Huh, I never thought of trying."

"You what!?" Several voices burst.

"Come to think of it... I've never seen you use it." Haruno's voice mused.

"You all should use this time to discuss future training. Personal inquiries can be carried out later." Yamato could be heard from the distance.

"Right, so... should we set Hanabi up to train for some kind of substitution jutsu, or something? She never used one." Boss spoke over a sudden pop the crinkling of the fire.

"Might I suggest the young Hyuuga learn the Shadow Clone jutsu? It would be highly effective inconjunction with her taijutsu style." Rock lee... who could mistake that voice and way of speaking? Come to think of it... Hanabi didn't seem to use any standard jutsus when it would have been silly not to.

"That will not be necessary." The older Hyuuga – the one Boss defeated in the Chuunin exams, spoke swiftly.

"I don't understand, Neji." The bun-haired girl with the steel fetish. "It does make a lot of sense when you think about it."

"You don't have to understand. Hinata and myself can train Hanabi on how to deal with a wider range of- ..." The older Hyuuga paused. Konohamaru would have to remember his name was Neji.

"It's – It's okay, Neji." Boss's girl was barely audible.

"Uh, Is this some kind of a clan secret thing?" Haruno sounded nervous.

"Sort of..." Boss's girl paused. "We don't use Ninjutsu."

Yamanaka almost snorted. "The Hyuuga aren't that uptight, are they? Surely they will forgive her for learning something that could save her life."

"I think you misunderstood." Neji's voice was level. "What Lady Hinata means is that we Hyuuga are _unable_ to use Ninjutsu."

* * *

**Chapter 6 After-word:**

So, yeah, this thing has taken a long time to get finished for a lot of reasons. You know all the explanations and excuses, already.

Thank you all for reading – all comments are appreciated, I apologize for being a horrible person and not being very chatty with reviewers.

More chapters to follow, you all take care and have yourselves a wonderful... occasion... figure out what it is that you want to be wonderful, today – and go have that.


	7. 07: Converge

Foreword:

Between my cat and windows updates, this chapter may never get written... You'd think I would have learned my lesson regarding auto-restore features by now; they don't.

Again, I thank you all for the reviews and feedback. Don't worry – answers are coming to some of your all's questions.

* * *

Chapter 7: **Converge**

Hiashi let his eyes wander across the features of the Taijitu embroidered upon the tapestry. There was a meaning behind the circle composed of cycling Yin and Yang that was so simple, so fundamental, that it was almost impossible to grasp in its entirety. While seated at the core of what the Hyuuga philosophy taught, perhaps nothing was as poorly understood.

Or, perhaps, Hiashi mused, that was the lesson. Those who truly understood came to the realization that certainty was merely a product of arrogance; that there would always be mystery to the universe beyond one's mastery. He took and held a deep breath, savoring the smell of his tea. In circumstances like this, one had to find something to be content with.

"Lord Hiashi," the infamous Elder Hoshi began, "As one who can also see the streams of destiny, you must surely understand the predicament we face."

Hiashi let his eyes wander across the elderly faces in the room. His fellow clan head of the Nara had a particular word for such occasions. "Honestly," He let his tea-soaked breath escape through his nostrils, "I do not." He waited for one of the elder's lips to signify an intent to respond before continuing. "I, too, see the streams of destiny merging at an increasing rate. However, would it still be destiny if it could be changed by something as simple as a Clan meeting?"

A few brows knit together in the opposed company. "The Hyuuga have long interpreted the flow of Destiny, itself, in order to align the Clan with success and prosperity." Hoshi studied his cup of tea as he spoke. "You and I both know that Destiny is not a simple thing to change, yet the wisdom to see it is not without purpose or merit."

"That may be true." Hiashi let his eyes scan the younger faces in the room, the aides of the respective clan elders. "However, there are some facets of Destiny that are best to simply accept."

"Even in that," Hoshi's eyes grew stern before picking up his tea cup, "you have been negligent to the Hyuuga. The world is destined for chaos and destruction, yet you leave the line of succession ambiguous?"

"There are three strong candidates." Hiashi countered. "I am sure that if anything should happen to me, it is within the capacity of the Elders to figure something out."

"All of whom," Hoshi set his tea cup back down, "Are currently deployed to the field as part of the same operation." Hoshi's eyes stared impassively above Hiashi's head. "This is not a game, Hiashi. The Akatsuki attack on the village was a preview of things to come. To say we were lucky was an understatement." He locked eyes with Hiashi. "Your eldest daughter is alive, but I saw the ambiguity of her fate not days prior."

Hiashi forced his tongue into the back of his teeth. Neji was not mistaken during the Chunin exams. He saw it then, and it held true to this day. Naruto and Hinata, for better or for worse, shared the same destiny. The fact that Naruto almost died, as well, was by no coincidence – nor was her survival. That said, the course of that destiny was out of his hands.

"Speaking of Hinata," Sorano's voice cut from the side, "is it wise to leave her in the line of succession?"

Elder Sorano, the old woman of the sky, was always critical of Hinata. She and Hiashi had clashed multiple times over the issue of his eldest daughter, and it would seem that now would be no different. "Lady Hinata is much adored by many within our clan and has very strong connections with those poised to become leaders of other clans within the Leaf."

"It is precisely her fraternization with the Branch family that jeopardizes the delicate balance of power within the Hyuuga." Sorano shifted forward. "It is the duty of the Branch to protect the Head. Hinata bears your unwillingness to accept this to an even greater extent. Hanabi has a penchant for headstrong rebellion and Neji was born into the destiny of the Branch Family."

Hiashi studied the curve of his tea's meniscus before looking back at her for a response. "Did it ever occur to you that, perhaps, the Hyuuga's destiny is to change?"

"Hiashi," Hoshi spoke, his tone firm with an unusual softness, "You acted upon your interpretation of Destiny once, before. The price you paid... that we all paid... was Tukiko."

It was true enough, Hiashi had to admit. His wife was the cost paid for pursuing ambition. It wasn't an easy realization to come to, but one many years of reflection had arrived at. Was he repeating the same mistake? An uncomfortable silence had fallen across the room before Hiashi resolved to break it. "Aside from fears that Hinata will bring change to the Hyuuga, are there any other concerns?"

"It is not just change, Hiyashi." Sorano cocked a shoulder back. "It is quite clear who the girl holds affections for and there have been reports that the Kyuubi's container has miraculously begun reciprocating that interest. It is not reasonable to expect Hinata to accept anything less than a courtship of the Kyuubi's container."

Hoshi appeared to wince. "The Uzumaki boy is, indeed, a spirited and accomplished individual. Hinata would be quite well at his side. However, if the two do enter into a marriage and Hinata is the designated head of the Hyuuga, who would really be seen as the head of the Hyuuga? Further, should their children be gifted with the Byakugan, by what right would the Hyuuga have to require any of them be branded as Branch members?"

"To add," Sorano cut, again, "would any of these children be rightful heirs to the Hyuuga Head? The Kyuubi's container bears the Uzumaki name and is not likely to forfeit into our clan."

Hiashi couldn't help but wonder if Sorano would have dared to call Mito a 'container.' "If I may utter such blaspheme," Hiashi began, "perhaps the future of the Hyuuga is within the Uzumaki. It would certainly take care of 'power balance' problems."

The room collectively frowned. "Such a destiny would not be so easily influenced by a plan for succession." Hoshi stroked his chin. "Leaving such a simple thing undone is an invitation to unnecessary conflict. It would be negligent for the Head to effectively abandon his position to ambiguity."

"I appreciate the concern, Elder Hoshi," Hiashi closed his eyes, "I do see the ambition in the eyes of others in this room. Writing an official line of succession will precipitate their attempts to act upon their ambitions. I am not blind to the consequences that would come from this."

Hoshi sighed. "Change," he addressed the room, "does not often come without conflict. Neither, however, does security. How ironic that those who can see Destiny would still quarrel over its course."

* * *

Yamato forced blinking. Closing his eyes wasn't a problem. It was getting them to open back up that posed a problem. The camp below was beginning to stir awake amid the morning fog. It would still be another hour or so before the veil fully receded.

The branch shifted beneath him and he looked to see Shizune joining him. "Looks like it was a long night." She flopped on the branch beside him, leaves shaking noisily.

"Everyone was so well behaved that I almost felt I could fall asleep." He felt a smile tug at his mouth.

"All part of their devious little plan." She smirked back at him.

"I can only imagine what the rest of it entails." He looked back at the ground. "For some reason, my imagination doesn't work as well as theirs does."

Shizune shifted next to him. "Seriously, though; they do seem to be progressing fairly well. I'm actually kind of impressed to see how seriously they all seem to be taking this."

"Pain... was a wake-up call for all of us, I think." Yamato let out a sigh. "I remember seeing the markings on my hand as Naruto progressed through the stages of releasing the Kyuubi." Without realizing, he'd begun staring at his palm. "In my brain, I knew what was required of me... but my mind simply froze and refused to accept that such a time had actually come. Not that it really mattered. We were much too far away when it happened."

He set his palm back on the branch, glancing at Shizune when her head shifted to the pastel sunrise blotched by shadowy trees. "I don't remember much of it." Her eyes remained distant. "I'm not even sure if I remember my soul being ripped from my body, or what it truly was that I remember. The end effect was that I … died."

They weren't playing a game of one-up, but Shizune just won. "I'm sorry..." He started.

"Don't be." She looked back at him. "In a way, it is kind of liberating. What's left for me to do in the world? I can already check dying off the list, so it makes being afraid of the other things on the list a little more difficult, you know? How many people can say 'been there, done that' to what is usually the last stop in life?"

Yamato simply couldn't help himself; "Nearly a whole village full of people." He winced at his own words.

A mild shove connected with his shoulder. His eyes flashed to Shizune's smirk. "You really are out of it." Her gaze fell back to the camp veiled beneath the fog. A moment passed before she was giving him a gentle shake; "Look at that!" She gestured excitedly.

Yamato followed her gesture to see Naruto returning from watch to a spot in the fog. He stooped, and a moment later, the dark indigo hair of a certain Hyuuga peaked through the mist. The blonde tenderly picked a few leaves from the girl's hair as she took a deep yawn before helping to pull her to her feet.

"You're not turning into a voyeur, are you?" Yamato felt his brow quirk as he cast a sidelong look at her.

"Oh, come on," She chided; "they are adorable and in plain sight."

"Kakashi always warned me that the quiet ones are most into public displays." Just what the hell was coming out of his mouth?

Shizune quirked her brow for a moment. "And with that, I believe it's your bed time. You can still get a few hours in before we're slotted to move. We should be arriving in that port town this evening, so we can all get some down time before too much longer."

"Yeah..." He let his eyes fall back to the ground. "It isn't a bad outlook, though." He caught her look of confusion. "Sometimes we fuss so much over death that we forget to live, it would seem."

* * *

Hinata ran her fingers through her frizzled hair in an attempt to get it to straighten and be cooperative. A few more attempts later, she knit her brow together before letting out a sigh. "I suppose this will just have to do until we get to that port."

"Ho-e-ly," Naruto attempted to speak from around the biscuit wedged in his mouth before chomping down on it, "I think it looks cute." He withdrew the mass of bread from the side of his cheek to finish chewing.

It was a bit too early for Hinata to do much more than blush at the complement. She should remind him of his manners. She could comment that his crudeness could be cute, too. Blushing, however, would suffice.

"You really should think about tying it back, or something, though." Tenten was stuffing some of her gear into a bag. "I harp on Neji all the time that his hair is a natural leash if someone were to grab a hold of it."

"She really is insistent upon it." Neji's voice came from beneath the fog, nearby. "But if such is my destiny..."

"Oh, come off it!" Tenten kicked at the ground beside her. "There are all manner of prestigious men who kept their hair tied back. It is a liability in combat."

"Pervy Sage could use his as a weapon, though." Naruto stroked his chin. "Do you have a secret art like that, too, Neji?"

It was at times like this, Hinata wasn't sure if Naruto was serious, or if he was just trying to see how long he could run with this. The boy had a penchant for playing the most convincing idiot right up until the moment you were in his trap. Then, there were other times... he was just clueless. Still, she had to giggle at the idea of Neji somehow forming his hair into a weapon.

"Naruto, if I told you, it wouldn't be much of a secret art, now would it?" Hinata could practically see Neji's eyes remaining closed while he said this.

"But, surely there is some reason for you to disregard standard combat doctrine and place yourself at risk." Tenten looked down at her comrade.

Hinata sucked on her lips and bit her cheek to try and keep from cracking into a laugh. It was rare to see the two in action, but Tenten and Naruto could play off of each other like siblings. What was said next, though, took her by surprise.

"It's got to be some kind of secret Hyuuga technique." Naruto observed. "Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi all wear their hair long."

"Yeah, I haven't worn mine long since our first Chunin Exams." Sakura popped up from the fog.

"But... what about Miss Ino?" Hinata defended.

"Who uses her hair to project her mind into others." Sakura finished.

"What are you saying about me, Forehead?" A voice could be heard in the distance.

"That you peep on Gai Sensei in the locker room!" The pink haired girl shot back.

"He actually looks better without that horrid suit on!" The platinum blonde bellowed.

Sakura's brow knit together. "I... Honestly don't know if she is joking, or not."

"Is... this really the best conversation to be having in front of all the kids?" Hinata found her voice.

"Probably not." Sakura sighed. "It was fun, though."

"Do not forget to add 'disturbing.'" Neji's voice crawled from beneath the fog.

"Are you ever going to get up?" Tenten eyed the fog suspiciously. "Or are you just going to pretend that you're too good to get up with everyone else?"

"I was simply attempting to meditate before beginning the day's activities." Neji's head breached the fog as he rose. "It would appear as though that would be a futile endeavor to pursue any further."

"One of these days," Tenten began, "We are going to teach you how to speak human."

The group continued packing their gear in relative silence. Before enclosing everything, however, Hinata ran her tongue over her teeth. Dissatisfied with the result, she grabbed her toothbrush and made for the water can. She was about halfway through brushing her teeth when she felt a patting on her hair. Halting her brushing between pursed lips, she turned and saw the object of her affections patting inquisitively at her hair. A bit of heat rose in her cheeks as she did her best to give him her 'what-the-hell' face.

"So, what kind of weapon can you make it into?" He simply fanned some strands in his palm.

She spent the next several minutes cleaning toothpaste off the two of them. She still had no idea if he was serious or just using it as an excuse to act in odd ways, but it made her laugh just the same.

* * *

Ayeka let the sunlight pour through the window of her apartment. Sometimes, as she woke later into the morning, scenes like this made her feel like there was a dream out there for her to live. The sun seemed to be able to burn away the stains upon her skin – upon her very soul. But as the sun would set, work would begin.

At first, it was out of desperation – necessity. Fear will drive a person to irrationality so far beyond their principles as to destroy their being. Right becomes wrong; normal becomes perverse; lies become reality. Before that, though, is just a numbing feeling. It was like eating out of boredom or taking a sip of a drink always within unconscious reach.

Then the grooming sets in. After such a life – after such things... what worth did she have left? Just as the nose can adapt to the most noxious of odors and tastes can be acquired... pleasure can be found in the most twisted and degrading of situations if for no other reason than simply to cling to survival. But were the insistent voices right? Was that what she really enjoyed – who she really was? Even if there was a decent man out there who would want her, would she be able to enjoy anything except the perversion she'd been subjected to? Could she ever truly be the complement to the other half of a decent whole?

The idea, for the longest time, was completely ridiculous. The best she could hope for was to become someone's trophy – a wall-flower, or sexual conquest... maybe both. Maybe he wouldn't truly care about her, but who else could overlook the life she had been living?

No... that wasn't it. Who else could she really feel as though she belonged with? Anything decent, it would seem, would be sullied by her association.

She wasn't naive. Not every girl in this line of work was like her. Some were opportunists. Others were simply monetizing their normal behavior. The mills, as a song once said, grind slow in a riverbed ghost town. There was a time where she was allowing herself to slip beneath the surface toward the cold embrace of apathy.

A knock on the door drew her attention. She stalked warily toward the door and paused to peer through the hole. Some … clients … could develop an unwelcome attachment. The Ramen delivery man, however, always had clearance. She opened the door.

"Good day, Miss." The man smiled. "Got your scheduled delivery, here."

"Ah, thank you very much." She took the package from the man before grabbing a small envelope from the nearby counter. "Here, for your trouble."

The man gingerly accepted the letter and nodded. "Thank you. Have a nice day, now!" He called as he strolled away.

Ayeka's heart pounded in her ears as she fumbled to open the package of Ramen. There was only one other time she received scheduled Ramen when it was not, in fact, scheduled.

[break]

"Well," Shikaku mused at the approaching Hyuuga, "that's a troublesome expression if I've ever seen one." His voice sounded flat against the waterfall in the background.

"I wish 'troublesome' was all it really was." Hiashi closed his eyes and released a sigh.

"A game of Shogi to work out the old kinks?" Shikaku offered. Beyond-troublesome subjects were... troublesome, but beyond.

"I've already done that in a briefing with the Hokage." Hiashi pinched his brow. "A simple round of venting will probably do."

"Now that is impressive. Something so bad you had to brief the Hokage about." Shikaku almost had to suppress an amused whistle.

"To put it simply," Hiashi started, "The elders are pushing me to officially name a successor. They see the way things are shaping out in the world and are terrified of what will happen if the seat of the Head is left vacant."

Shikaku, true to the Nara name, ran the scenarios in his head almost before Hiashi finished speaking. "Ah, so the ones who want you out of the equation want you to hurry up and pick which poison to feed you."

"That pretty much sums it up." Hiashi sighed. "Neji, Hinata, Hanabi – no matter which one I name, they already have a battery of arguments lined up against them. While I believe most are sincere in their desire to have a process in place, those with ambitions will easily polarize the council and the Hyuuga at large."

"I have to admit," Shikaku stroked his mustache, "Hinata is appearing to be your strongest candidate at the moment. She's made enormous strides in the past couple of years, has ties to many other prospective clan leaders in the future, and not to mention Naruto."

"It's actually Naruto who most complicates her standing." Hiashi sighed. "Would the Hyuuga be able to survive as they are with Hinata at the Head and him as her husband?"

Shikaku's brow knit together. "Not if anything else Naruto has done is a valid indication..." That ultimately implied a merger of the Hyuuga within the Uzumaki... which sounded ridiculous as Naruto was essentially a clan of himself. For those who bore witness to Naruto, however... "Okay, so let's assume that is an outcome to be avoided for the sake of argument. Hanabi was considered superior to Hinata at one time."

Hiashi shook his head. "She is still young and has that rebellious streak in her. From their standpoint, she's unpredictable and has shown signs that her performance was a competition for affection as opposed to a genuine sense of duty to the clan."

Shikaku's brow shot up a bit. "Well, you've got a picky bunch. Far be it from a child to seek approval. Neji seems to be quite devoted to the Hyuuga, though." Shikaku could pretty much guess why the elders wouldn't go for Neji, but this was mostly for Hiashi to vocalize his concerns.

"He is, perhaps, the most certain of the choices." Hiashi pinched his brow, again. "Unfortunately, that certainty involves a long-standing hatred for the tradition of the seal. Not to mention he did make an attempt on Hinata's life."

"So, he would basically still be a Branch Family member, just with the authority of the Head Branch." Shikaku confirmed. "Neji would have no clothes."

"Essentially." Hiashi nodded. "I suppose I could draw names out of a hat." The Hyuuga paused, before cracking a smile. "The look on their faces would be amusing."

"It sounds to me," Shikaku started, "like you really have two options."

Hiashi locked eyes with the Nara. After youve known a Hyuuga long enough, figuring out what they are looking at becomes second nature. "And those would be?"

"Hinata is the strongest candidate, and likely will remain so. She will be able to have the most influence on the Hyuuga as a whole no matter how fierce the rivalry becomes. Assuming this thing with Naruto stays steady and true, he can more or less treat the whole Hyuuga clan like he did Neji and beat sense into them." He paused. "He may do that, anyway." The Nara admitted with a chuckle.

"You can either name her as the successor, relatively soon, and trigger whatever fallout that will generate. Or, you can simply continue stalling their efforts to have a successor named until you pass into history and let the proverbial cookie crumble how it will." Shikaku finished.

"I worry that I may, perhaps, have too much of a personal interest in shaping the future of the Hyuuga." Hiashi sighed.

"Then don't." Shikaku yielded to a smile. "You'll have done nothing, and your daughters will ensure nothing is left undone."

"And yet, somehow, I feel like that would be irresponsible as a father." Hiashi pursed his lips.

"Only if you don't prepare her for it." Nara's brows raised at his friend.

* * *

Kakashi Hatake sipped lazily at his drink. He knew these places gorged themselves upon one form of empty heart or another, but there was something about having an empty heart that made one not care one way or the other. Various girls dressed in different attire wandered about the room, seating themselves next to those with anxious requests willing to pay for company or additional services.

Strangely, he wasn't really interested in the act of sex. Perhaps the different books he read painted a much more fantastic picture than the real act. Or... He shrugged the thought away. He just felt like he belonged here more so than at a typical bar, even if that was all he treated it as. Perhaps if it weren't for the arrogant fools with more money than charm, he could actually see himself trading money for feminine company. He hated thinking about such things, but seeing the clientele, he simply couldn't bring himself to fully join their ranks.

He shrugged, again. Between real life not living up to smut and his revulsion at those who regularly utilized such services, he really didn't understand why he felt drawn to these places. The silver haired Jonin was content to simply close his eyes for a few moments when he heard the air shift as someone approached to sit next to him.

"Uh, pardon my interruption," Kakashi opened his eyes to find a young woman seated next to him. Her voice had a depth of maturity, even culture to it. Her hair was a deep shade of violet that fell in two locks before her ears and two thin, tightly bound pony tails that arced around her body. "But would you happen to be the teacher of Naruto Uzumaki?" Her red eyes locked onto his.

"I'm sorry, Miss, I didn't catch your name." He performed his famous eye-smile.

"My deepest apologies." She almost bowed. "My name is Ayeka."

"Well, Miss Ayeka, I think I've about hit my drink limit for the night and was just about to head home." Kakashi forced a bit of a practiced slur into his speech. "I don't want to keep you from your business." He stood to leave.

There was a tug at his sleeve. "Please?" He turned and looked down into her eyes. There was something hidden within them; something that he'd learned to sense while in the Anbu.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Well, if you insist!"

"This way, please." She led the way up the staircase at the corner of the room. Somewhat to Kakashi's surprise, the upstairs looked more like a middle class Hotel. The carpet in the hallway was clean, the walls pristine and decorated with a matching theme. While Kakashi knew that few places would have time to look worn within the Leaf, this place still seemed to be a rather classy establishment. He could just as easily be checking in near a hot spring, somewhere.

"So, I never really did answer your question." Kakashi started, trying to break the silence.

"Only the legendary Kakashi Hatake can make his eyes smile in such a fashion." Ayeka countered.

"I... suppose my reputation precedes me." He chuckled as they stopped in front of a door.

"Well, yes." She admitted, sliding a key in the door. "However, from that reputation, I would have never guessed you as being the eyes-only type."

Kakashi felt a bit of heat rise in his cheeks as the two entered the room. "I, uh, suppose some things get exaggerated."

"Enough of that, though." Ayeka lifted the lid from the reservoir on the toilet, withdrawing a small envelope. "I like to think of this as my real job, these days."

Kakashi eyed the envelope. "That's..."

"It is designated Flash priority. I am technically delinquent with it." Ayeka heaved a sigh.

* * *

Naruto waited long enough to avoid suspicion, he figured, and let the door close on the sounds of a shower behind him. It had been a few hours since they reached the precariously named port town of Tsunami. All ports had institutions such as this. Actually... after Naruto thought about it... just about anywhere there were people, there were these types of places.

All of the evidence had been secured away in a toad summon, and so the blond left almost out of habit more so than any preordained strategy. Checking the clock on the wall as he left, he surmised that he still had two hours before they were all due back at their hotel. Things were flowing along smoothly.

As he exited the double doors of the establishment, however, he felt a hand close down on his shoulder. He nearly dropped into a defensive pose before the familiar feminine voice cut through his nerves. "We know what has been going on." Tenten glared at the shriveling blonde.

Neji simply stared straight ahead. "I will be informing Lady Hinata of this when we make landfall in your Clan's homeland." He began walking away. "It had better not come as a surprise to her." With that, the two older teens disappeared into the bustle of the port town.

Thinking too late, the clone dispersed itself.

* * *

Kakashi sought out the only person he knew to contact regarding this matter. Naruto was well out of reach, and it _really_ wouldn't be the best news to be dropping on him in the middle of a mission. Thus, he was standing at the entry of the Nara head's tent, clanging at the unfortunate man's bell.

There was some shuffling inside the tent before Shikaku's head protruded. "Oh." He sighed. "Par for the course, I suppose. Come in."

"I apologize for the disturbance, Lord Shikaku." Kakashi sat where the Nara gestured.

"I am sure it was not without reason. There is a certain haunt in your eyes that is rare to see." Shikaku stroked his mustache.

"I just received this." Kakashi produced the envelope Ayeka had given him. "It's designated to be for Naruto, or the highest reachable authority."

Shikaku examined the envelope before pulling out the piece of paper from within. Kakashi already knew what was on it.

_START_

_Priority: FLASH_

_To: Fallow Dragon_

_Nation of Lightning Jinchuriki "Killer B" abducted by Akatsuki operative confirmed to be former Taka Cell under command of Sasuke Uchiha. Orders given by one claimed Madara Uchiha._

_END_

_Addendum: Source node compromised._

_Addendum: Relay node compromised._

_Addendum: Received at blind drop; suspect nearby corpse as drop source – compromised._

"Oh, hell." Shikaku murmured. "Please tell me you're not the one who picked this up at that blind drop."

Kakashi blanched. He hadn't quite expected Shikaku to get that interpretation out of it. Someone had been quite persistent in deconstructing what they could find of … whatever network he'd been inducted into. "No, there is at least one other, though I do not know where they received it from. I just was just, uh, drafted, you could say." He forced an eye-smile.

"If you can spare it, keep an inconspicuous eye on them." Shikaku sighed. "Hopefully, that blind drop served its purpose and contained the damage." The Nara paused. "Who would have thought that Jiraiya's network extended into the Akatsuki, itself?"

"Ah, so that's what this is all about..." Kakashi let his tone become serious. "So, Naruto inherited it, then?"

"It would seem so." Shikaku pinched his brow. "I'm becoming a bit too old for this game, Kakashi. It's been one thing, simply getting updates from his network as a sort of dead end. It's another to take up the mantle of being a handler of the network."

Human Intelligence networks were delicate things. Lives... like Ayeka's... hung in the balance at all times. Shikaku hadn't asked where he got this from, he knew better. Ayeka probably knew far more than either Kakashi or Shikaku, but even then, that should be structured in a limited manner. Every so often, exchanges of information should occur in a double-blind nature – neither party making the exchange knows exactly who is sending or leaving information.

There were two reasons, Kakashi thought as he exited Shikaku's tent following promises to continue the discussion at another time, why one did not wish to know who was involved in these networks.

The first was obvious. Even if the enemy lacked mystical brain-stealing capabilities, interrogations could be especially effective at making the release of tiny bits of information seem harmless and tempting. It was best to be able to honestly answer that you didn't know. At least useless people were typically spared hours of various forms of torture.

The second was a continuation of the first. You didn't want to be able to see faces when the term "compromised" appeared next to their post. The Jonin took some comfort in the observation that the last bit of handwriting on the paper did not appear to come from someone such as Ayeka. Far too many faces had become a painful memory for the young man. Ayeka, he reasoned, had been though more than enough to warrant being spared such a fate.

* * *

Water sloshed against the pier, slapping at the chain-hung rounds of wood slung from the stone. Nearby, a ship's mooring lines creaked and sighed with the breath of the ocean. It was Hinata's first time around such a place. "It's a bit more quiet than I imagined." She turned to her blonde companion.

"Ports get really busy when ships are coming or going." Naruto looked up at one of the masts of a nearby ship. "It seems most of these guys have been here for a few days."

"You did travel a lot with Lord Jiraiya, didn't you." It was more of an observation than a question.

"Well, yeah!" Naruto almost skipped. "Everywhere we went, he seemed to know half of the people in town. It was like he had family spread out all over the continent, and even more."

The two paused to watch a sailor aboard the nearby ship make a round across the deck, inspecting the lines. He called to some place deeper in the ship when he checked the lines she and Naruto had just passed. On closer inspection, Hinata noticed the cloth wrappings on the sections where the two lines crossed had come apart. "I kind of wish I could have been a part of it." The Hyuuga felt a bit of heat rise in her cheeks.

The blonde locked eyes with her. "Well, it was kind of fun – but Pervy Sage often left me alone to go chase after girls, or something. He could be kind of disappointing at times."

Hinata giggled. At first, she'd been somewhat worried about Jiraiya's reputation and how it would affect her Naruto. "Still, though, you have been able to see many things that some of the most traveled among our class have not." She paused for a moment. "And I can tell that you miss him."

Naruto sighed, letting himself almost shuffle to a stop. "He taught me a lot more than I realized." His blue eyes studied the crevices of the masonry work of the pier. "I'd have a lot more questions for him, though, if I ever had the chance to ask him."

Hinata felt herself reach out and place a hand on his shoulder. If her mother was still around, she would have a great many questions for her, as well.

"But," Naruto looked up. "It feels kind of strange. When I'm using Sage Mode, where I used to be able to sense him, feels, somehow, complete."

Hinata sighed, "Nothing left undone."

The blonde lurched forward "The hell he didn't! I still have the manuscripts for his unpublished book! That thing is massive!"

The Hyuuga couldn't stop herself from releasing an explosion of laughter. "Calm down." She nudged him. Then a few gears began turning in her head. "Wait... Th-there's an unpublished Icha-Icha?" Heat rose in her cheeks.

"Yeah, the old perv used to have me proofread his books, so I have … actually, I don't know how much more he planned to write on it." Naruto scratched the back of his head.

Hinata's cheeks tingled with what she knew was a raging blush. "A-Are you going to... finish it?" Her heart throbbed in her ears.

"What? No way!" Uzumaki laughed. "I have no idea how to be an author, much less could I write about... well.. what he wrote about." His brow quirked a bit when he returned her gaze. "Is everything okay? You're kind of red."

Hinata recoiled, feeling her eyes bulge wide. "I-uh, it's just... I'm kind of warm, is all." One of these days, she would learn to be smooth under pressure, she promised herself.

"Well, here," The blonde set his arms on her shoulder, "I'll take your jacket-"

"N-No! It's fine, really!" She squeaked and leaped a few steps away.

"Oh!" The blonde snapped his hands back to his chest. "I... I'm sorry. I just thought-"

"N-No, I'm sorry." The Hyuuga caught her breath. "I'm the one acting weird, you're fine."

"Oh... O-kay..." The blonde paused before his blue eyes went wide in what Hinata could only assume was a shock-frozen pose. "Uh..."

The Hyuuga tilted her head. "Naruto?" Was he about to ask her what her hair turned into, again?

"Hey..." He started. "I... uh... kind of have something to confess."

Hinata felt a lump rise in her throat. "W-What is it?" Her mind simply produced far too many things from some form of prank to some torturous truth.

"It's... Well, it's better if I show you." The blonde scratched the _side _of his head.

Once again, Hinata's heart was pounding. Now the previous talk of Jiraiya's books had all manner of insanity running through the girl's mind. This was just like … "Uh, W-what is it?"

"It's not bad, just, promise not to freak out, okay?" The blonde began leading her through an alley between two buildings.

Somewhere within Hinata's mind, a shriek of sanity broke through the fog of her mind. "N-Naruto, let's wait!" Someplace symbolic, like where his home village used to be, maybe. Not in an alley way. Not in a port town like some gunwale harlot. He paused to look back at her. "U-Until... later? M-maybe after we get to Uzu...?"

His blue eyes tilted with his head. "It will be too late, then!" He started moving again, and it dawned on Hinata that he had no intention of stopping there to begin with.

_Perhaps, _The young Hyuuga thought, _Lord Jiraiya affected me far more so than his pupil..._. That still didn't answer what was so hell-fire important to confess in the middle of town.

**End Chapter 7**

* * *

Thank you, again, you all for reading.

Notes:

Not going to lie, this was a bit of a rushed production. My note books are full of stuff that happens after this, but for some reason I had some severe writers' block for the intermediary time. I've been having to plop ideas for events during what will become my version of the war arc down on paper just to clear space in my head to get down to business on this stuff.

I'm sure you've heard it all before from just about every other person who writes these types of things.

I'd also like to take a moment to say that I've been on a Fairy Tail binge, as of late. If you're looking for another manga/anime to binge and you haven't yet done so with Fairy Tail – I encourage you to. I admit, at first I thought it was kind of a "for the lulz" type of production. There's a lot of campy humor and innuendo in the series that, honestly, I feel distracts from the true depth of the character drama that becomes apparent later on.

Plot lines run in Fairy Tail for hundreds of chapters/episodes. Almost literally, nothing mentioned is forgotten or not put to use at a later date. Things you forgot about -way- back in the second or third arc of the series come back to punch you in the gut a hundred and twenty episodes later. The Grand Magic Games turned out to be one of the best arcs in the series (I'm sure there are others of the opposite opinion out there, and they would be wrong :P ) - at first, I thought it was the obligatory "Tournament" story line that was mostly there as an excuse to pit allies against each other, or something.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Sure – it has a degree of predictability to it... but, even in that, it maintains an element of ingenuity and suspense. It's also one of the few animes where I actually see people fighting in teams. Sure, there is a lot of one-on-one stuff, as well, but there is a lot of teaming up in Fairy Tail that you just don't seem to get in other Shonen manga/animes, it seems.

It's worth checking out.

Anyway – I'll update as I can. You all take care and have yourselves a wonderful day/evening/morning/existence.


	8. 08: SNAP

Foreword:

Once again, I thank you all for the views and reviews. You all allow me to turn my narcissistic impulses into something that can be shared and enjoyed.

I'm going to take a moment to ask you all to hang on to your seats just a bit; not because of any suspenseful writing on my part, but because I'm about to throw some concepts at you that may seem to come out of left field, especially if you aren't familiar with The Bamboo Cutter and if you haven't really bothered to look much into some of my earlier hints or into the lore that Naruto borrows heavily from.

On that note, I do recommend you all look up the story of The Bamboo Cutter, if you haven't, already. It's a Japanese classic that qualifies as a legend. It's pretty important if you are interested in making sense of Naruto's plot line.

* * *

Chapter 8: SNAP

_Tenshi_ … _of all the ironic names to be stuck with..._ The young man looked over the night's log book. There was absolutely nothing about this place, or his job, that suggested some kind of divinity. Downstairs was a third class sailors' bar with haunting echoes of first class eras long since passed. Upstairs was where consenting adults spent time together – or whatever jargon could be used to make prostitution seem palatable. In place of rent, the girls simply gave a cut of each trick to the bar... or the bar allowed the girls to keep a cut of each trick. Perspective.

At one time, the place was an up-scale hotel appealing to traveling dignitaries and business men. The bar was a classy pub long before Tenshi's parents were born. Eventually, after the island nation nearby was destroyed, the market changed and business had to adapt. Sailors didn't have pockets as deep as traveling merchants and ranking business officials, but their standards of accommodation were competitively priced.

The sound in the room shifted, causing him to look up at the two figures standing in front of the desk. "Ah, you've returned." He said to the familiar mop of blonde hair. He saw the oddly pale eyes of the girl next to him widen and her shifting form grow still. _Oops._

"Uh... Yeah... Is she?" The young blonde scratched the back of his head.

Tenshi consulted the log out of habit more than necessity. "Yes, she's still available."

"Thanks!" The blonde pulled the obviously confused girl along behind him. The blonde stuck out like a sore thumb compared to this place's usual clientele, to begin with. Now, he returned with another girl in tow who certainly did not appear to be at home in these types of places. It was, however, probably better not to ask. Whatever consenting adults did was their business.

Pain split through his head just as the sound of wood cracked through his skull. He recoiled to find his grandfather standing behind him. "You are losing your focus, Tenshi. We pride ourselves on _discretion._"

* * *

The young Hyuuga simply gave up trying to think. First, she was almost certain Naruto was going to expose himself to her in an alley. Then she thought he was going to show her a ramen stand to rival Ichiraku somewhere in town. Then the sexual idea that flew out the window, earlier, came back in through another one like the mystical powers of a boomerang when it became apparent he was leading her to the "Fleeting Sands of Love" hotel. All of which quickly turned to horror at the revelation they were going to meet someone _he'd already met with._

Perhaps a younger Hinata would have been more furious... or have simply ruled herself defeated before placing so much as a foot upon the first stair up to the second floor. A girl who hadn't paid as much attention to Naruto would have never trusted him enough to continue walking with him through the door of the establishment. A girl who had never drawn inspiration and life, itself, from the blonde wouldn't have waited next to him as he knocked on the room of a woman in her brothel.

Hinata Hyuuga may have many questions about her place in the world, and uncertainties regarding her place and role in Naruto Uzumaki's life. Had she even the slightest insecurity regarding an intent by the blonde to harm her, however, the sight of the light blue haired woman answering the door in nothing but lace underwear and an unlit cigarette hanging from her mouth would have exposed it.

"Okay." Hinata squelched the shaking in her voice. "How much more before this starts to make sense?"

[break]

Yamato stared at the dark masses of trees that loomed before the dim abyss of swimming stars. The hotel the group would be staying at was on the edge of town, situated at the base of a hill. Much to the man's glee, the side with the deck faced the hill and kept the hustle and bustle of the port on the other side of a wall.

The door slid open behind him and he recognized the soft padding of Shizune. "The showers are free, now, if you want to go take one."

"I suppose I should." He sighed. "It won't be too much longer before we're out to try and scrounge everyone together who didn't make curfew."

"Most of the ones I would be worried about are already conked out in their bunks." The woman let out a chuckle. "Naruto's gang really wore them out."

"Well, after encountering the monstrosities making up the Akatsuki, I can't say that I blame them." As far as Yamato saw it, no amount of training or experience could really prepare you for a show-down with anyone in the Akatsuki. It did beg the question of where in the hell those characters came from.

"Do you think we are going to have to put up with them on this mission?" Shizune's voice was calm, almost welcoming an answer.

Without really intending to, Yamato found himself answering the question with an honest sigh. "We can always hope. But," he shifted, "we've got one of their known primary targets with us and God only knows what interest they may have in the homeland of the Uzumaki. People who are drawn to power like to keep it in store for when they might need it, even if they have no idea what to do with it."

"Do you think we will be ready?" Again, that welcoming tone.

Again, Yamato found himself answering rather than constructing an answer. "In the same way you can expect the unexpected." He stood, pacing a stride before stopping himself. "It's always something different with them. Someone like Sasori was completely over the top. Just when you thought we were dealing with highly skilled masters of the arts, we get someone like Kakuzu or Hidan who are just this side of immortal." The jonin paused "After that, we get someone like Pain."

"So, what is worse than Pain?" Shizune looked absently up to the stars.

"We surpassed the worst my imagination can conjure up so long ago..." Yamato couldn't remember when he'd allowed such … despair into his voice.

"Well, then it really isn't worth worrying about." Shizune slid next to him. "I mean, we've already survived things worse than we could imagine."

Yamato felt his brow perk. "That's an interesting observation." He let the idea soak into his brain a bit further. "So, trying to imagine what could possibly be worse isn't going to help us prepare."

"That's one way of looking at it." The woman met his gaze. "I just meant that you should probably think more about taking a shower."

"Ah, yeah... That, too."

* * *

[ Music Reference Youtube: v=-sSYxIErcKM ]

Neji could feel his bones shake with the heavily modulated bass as his eyes sifted through the silhouettes against unusual shades of light. To say this was an uncomfortable place for a Hyuuga would be a severe understatement. Bodies shifted into and out of his vision, masses slipped through the ambient air, wafting the pungent odor of various alcoholic beverages. If it weren't for his Byakugan, he would be shifting around like a paranoid freak.

"It would seem..." He started toward Tenten.

His teammate's brow shifted with a look Neji understood to be incredulity. "You are going to have to speak up!" Her voice was flat and muddled within the shifting power of the music.

Neji let his vision shift back toward the figures in the nearby building. "It would seem as if Naruto has informed Lady Hinata, though not as I had expected!" His voice hammered dull against his skull. This was why he hated these types of places.

"Does he ever!?" The girl was eyeing the dance floor.

Neji caught the perfect distraction and made his way over to Lee. "A most generous token, Lee." The Hyuuga swiped the glass of alcohol from Lee before he made eye contact with the bartender. "He is already over his limit for the night, Thank you!" Yamato would kill them all if they destroyed a bar.

"Neji!" Lee followed the Hyuuga as he walked away. "I protest that this would be my first beverage of the evening!"

"Exactly!" Neji cocked his head over his shoulder. "Just trust me!" Lee couldn't have alcohol, but it could still be of use to the energetic soul. Neji inwardly grimaced when his feet stuck to the floor in his trek to a nearby table.

He set the glass down next to a slim green haired girl. "My friend over there" He motioned to Lee "says you are looking vibrant and full of youth." While keeping tabs on Naruto with his Byakguan, he'd noticed the glances the girl kept giving Lee. Hell if he understood what attracted people to each other, but he could identify it – and it wasn't like he was damaging his teammate's prospects in the slightest, here. He barely gave a chance for a response as he slipped away toward a corner.

"Never thought I'd see the day you turned into Lee's wingman!" Tenten's presence slid up beside him. "Where did that come from?"

Neji shrugged. "Just seemed like the thing to do." The way her eyes kept shifting back to the dance floor was … troubling.

"Really?" She cast a sideways glance at him. "Come on, we're going to be stuck on a ship for God only knows how long!" Tenten took a step toward the dance floor before a glance was cast back at the Hyuuga.

"It is not-" Neji started.

"For God's sake, Neji, dancing in public doesn't make you a fucking druggie! Let's go!" The girl grasped his forearm firmly before she split a path through the crowd with the Hyuuga in tow.

The two practically tripped out onto the dance floor along with an obviously inebriated couple who fell to the floor in a fit of laughter. Unfortunately, Neji did not find the humor in any of this. Frankly, he didn't understand Tenten's fascination with it, either, or how his involvement was supposed to contribute something positive. Naruto may have altered his view of Destiny, but he was quite certain he was destined to forever be awkward in this setting.

"You feel that?" Tenten was shifting her weight to the beat. "The bass is about to drop, just for us!"

"The … what!?" She knew better than to throw club lingo at him, or, whatever that was. Hell, he didn't even know what he was doing on this … thing.

Her response was to lock eyes with him as the music descended into a cascade of rapid pulses. His eye tracked the twitch in her leg as it transformed into a weak forward strike at his shoulder. Some part of his brain noted that it would have landed synchronously with the bass drum.

"Ten-" He shifted to dodge another 'strike.'

"Just forget about everyone else!" She stepped into where Neji had just been.

"Do-" He shifted to avoid another step and strike. "You have-" Yet another. "any idea-" She dipped in close enough to cause some heat to flare in the Hyuuga's cheeks.

"Right, I forgot." Tenten had, somehow, acquired the ability to whisper over club music. "Then, turn that thing off and focus on me."

Until that moment, Neji hadn't realized how important this was to Tenten. _What the hell_, he shrugged in his mind as he let his Byakugan fade and his vision darken. It was easier, he had to admit, to pretend this was a sort of sparing match without his Byakugan. She would move into his space and he would counter a move into hers. What began as rigid and awkward movements in space slipped into a fluid shifting through the rhythmic sound permeating the room.

* * *

"Take it easy, Princess, don't knock it until you try it." The blue haired woman let her gravely voice roll over her shoulder as she walked back toward her bed.

"Knock what, exactly?!" Hinata shot her eyes to Naruto.

"Ryoko, could you please not joke around? This is Hinata." The blonde shut the door.

"HAH!" Ryoko burst. "So why is a princess like you interested in little ol' me?"

Hinata moved next to the door handle. "Naruto..."

Naruto placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder. It was a calming sensation he was trying to send her. "I am trying to explain to her about, well, this."

"Oh!" The woman stood. "It's really pretty simple, Princess. Men get off of the ships, receive their pay for the time they have been at sea, then come find the women here to get what they haven't been able to get aboard the ship. Of course, there is a price for everything."

Hinata let her jaw go slightly slack. Did this … woman … think she was so naive as to not understand what a brothel was? She let some anger slip into the look she gave Naruto. "What is going on?"

"This would have been so much easier back in the Leaf..." The blonde groaned. "I meant what you do for me, Ryoko."

"What, the Princess, here, having trouble satisfying you?" She locked eyes with Hinata. "If you take these two fingers and-"

"Ryoko!" Naruto growled, his chakra flaring in Hinata's activated Byakugan.

"What? I'm just trying to give your princess some -" she looked at her outstretched fingers "-pointers."

This, 'Ryoko' character was obviously having too much fun tormenting her blonde to have a serious conversation. Hinata shut her Byakugan off, the other rooms were... distracting. "Naruto," She wiped emotions from her face; the Hyuuga Mask may as well have been a bloodline technique "I have not consumed enough alcohol to be comfortable with this, yet. Could you, please, go retrieve some from the bar?"

"Uh, Hinata, what?" The Uzumaki tilted his head at her.

"Sake, please get some from the bar. Make it warm if you can." She stepped more fully into the room, locking eyes with the blonde as she passed him. "Please." The Hyuuga let a smile etch itself into her mask.

"Uh... If that is what you want..." Naruto scratched the back of his head before he opened and stepped through the door.

"Wow, Princess;" Ryoko reclined on her bed "that poor boy probably thinks you're going to drag him into some kinky shit, tonight."

"We all know that isn't going to happen." Hinata sat on a nearby armchair. "Would you care to explain why?"

"Men can be such animals." Her cigarette bobbed in her mouth as she propped herself against the headboard. "The more power they seek, the more they want to feel they are full of masculine prowess." Her face glowed from around her hands as she lit the cigarette. "When they come to a place like this, they just want to feel powerful, like they can have whatever they want with no strings attached. They pick what they want that evening and we let them think they are the best thing since the orgasm, itself."

Years of practice allowed the maturing Hyuuga to squelch even the blush that would normally have accented her cheeks. "And that has what, exactly, to do with Naruto?"

"I was getting to that." She let out a puff of smoke toward the corner of the room. "The military types that come through here have a saying: 'Loose lips sink ships.' Information is a weapon." Ryoko flicked some ashes into a nearby tray. "By the way, don't start this. It's a nasty habit, but some of the customers seem to like it and it worms its way into your brain."

Hinata nodded. "I see."

"Anyway, these men like to boast about their conquests, especially if they are asked the right questions during intimate moments." Ryoko set her smoldering wrap of leaves aside. "They will boast about battles they are about to fight, crimes they plan to commit, their rank in some military organization or crime ring." She smiled "Some are even arrogant enough to bring along suitcases and wallets full of information that they are kind enough to allow us to look through as they sleep away in bliss."

"Lord Jiraiya's legendary spy network?" Hinata allowed a brow quirk to show through the mask.

"Well, there are parts of it that I'm not aware of." Ryoko rubbed her nose. "I think he was an opportunist, but us mere harlots can pull a lot more information per operative than most other types of contacts I can think of."

"And the network can act on it..." Hinata squinted into space. "Embedded operatives and double agents can be identified from the information they release, but tracing a leak back to a chance encounter in a brothel..."

"You catch on pretty quick, Princess." Ryoko picked up her cigarette again. "It actually ends up paying better than hooking. Well, around these parts, at least."

Hinata needed to get back to the subject. "So, Naruto..."

"Just makes sure that we are doing okay." Ryoko waved her hand. "Jiraiya did the same thing; just stop by, check up on us, and sometimes give us stuff to send out through the channels." The young woman locked eyes with the Hyuuga, before a smirk formed on her lips. "Relax, Princess. Far as I can tell, you'll likely be that boy's first. Frankly, it's nice when someone visits for something other than sex."

"I see." The Hyuuga Mask shrugged off a blush. "I appreciate the vote of confidence."

A knock was heard at the door. "And speak of the devil!" Ryoko bolted upright. "Princess, would you mind letting him back in?"

"S-Sure." Hinata shrugged off the awkwardness before she checked her Byakugan. Doors had a funny way of inviting the unexpected. Her vision verified a nervous wreck of a Naruto on the other side of the door before it swung to a scene in a nearby building. A small gasp escaped her as Naruto opened the door.

The blonde rubbed the back of his head... "So... uh..." His voice left a question unspoken.

"Keep your trousers on, Kiddo" Ryoko called over Hinata's shoulder. "The Princess, here, just wanted to talk in private."

A sigh of relief seemed to wash over the Uzumaki. "Oh, so, then..." He held up the sake.

The Hyuuga deactivated her Byakuan and took the small tray. "A gift for your hospitality, Ma'am." She set the tray on the table near the futon.

"HA!" Ryoko let a nasally cackle. "I love it, Princess! She's a slippery one, Kiddo." Her eyes shifted to the blonde.

"Well, she is a Ninja." Naruto stroked his chin with a nod.

"A ninja who got her answers." Ryoko bounced up from the bed. "And is looking to get on to better places than these stained bed sheets. You kids run along and behave yourselves."

Hinata bid her unusual hostess due gratitude, and left the room with Naruto in tow. There was a scene in a nearby building Hinata wouldn't have believed possible in a hundred years.

* * *

She took the time to savor the unique sticky-smooth sensation of the zipper as she sealed up the last bit of her suit. The fabric was alien to her mind, yet familiar to her soul; thin, dense, and as soft on the inside as it was slick to the outside world. Somehow, it managed to be both snug and comfortably loose.

"Princess," A woman's voice called from behind. Vision shifted to look at the doorway. "You will have time to double-check your packing after the briefing."

"Yes, of course." She brought her fully body around and began walking toward the door.

"Is this your first time going up, Princess?" The woman asked.

"Y-Yes." Somehow, the voice was hers, but wasn't.

"Don't let the briefing scare you." The woman smiled, head bobbing with the unique sound of hardened boot upon concrete. "The worst almost never happens, but it is nice to have a plan to reference when you find yourself in it."

The attempt at reassurance reminded her of the squirming inside her stomach and the tingling in the soles of her feet as they rounded the corner into a large, open bay. Machinery in various states of assembly had been crammed into corners while a rapidly assembled group of people passed the echoed humming of conversation in front of a projector screen. A few heads turned to look her way, a gesture that seemed to prompt a flurried exchange of banter.

"We'll sit down, here." The woman pulled aside one of the folding chairs in the back row, gesturing to take a seat.

Almost as soon as she was seated, a bald-headed man stood at the front of the seated group. "Alright!" His voice boomed off of the exposed metal rafters. "Quiet down so we can get this shit over with!" The projector shifted to display a welcome slide while the room became silent except for the creaking of shifted weight upon metal chairs.

"This is the Introduction to Personal Suit Safety and Vacuum Hazards course. Make sure you sign in on the paper at the back before you leave, or you get to do this shit again." The man clicked the projector display, again, shifting to a picture of the suit everyone was currently wearing. "This is the Type Seven. If it does not look familiar to you, please raise your hand."

The man paused, passing his eyes over the class. "Good!" He bellowed. "You all are smarter than the last group. Got halfway through the presentation before an argument broke out about whether or not it applied to the suits they were wearing." A blank expression fell over his face before he shook his head.

"Was it a class of Marines?" A voice called from within the group.

"No, it was actually during the officers' briefing." He paused before returning to what could only be assumed to be his standard briefing-bellow. "The Type Seven is designed to protect the wearer against the extremes of thermal exposure; that's hot and cold, for those of you who are illiterate. It is also designed to seal against a vacuum, protect against limited amounts of ionizing radiation – nuclear shit, chemical and biological agents, as well as resist surface abrasion. In short, it's designed to afford you a level of protection against just about anything except stupidity."

"Mendoza is screwed!" A voice called out, followed by a small echoing of laughs.

"It doesn't protect against an N-J-P, either, genius." The man bellowed.

* * *

Birds were well into their morning chatter as morning dew hang damp in the pre-dawn air. He was trying to find the peace – the stillness – that allowed him to take in the essence of Nature, itself. The more he looked around him, the more he realized he needed the strength it provided. He'd nearly lost Hinata; and after seeing Neji enjoying a dance with Tenten, it was all the more reason to grow strong enough to protect his friends and the world they enjoyed.

Yet, it wasn't coming as easily as it used to. Power that used to flock to him and course through his veins now hung thick and syrupy around him. The more he sought it, the more it seemed to fight him. Still, he could feel the others around him as he meditated on the balcony. He knew Hinata had woken from a restless sleep before she sat down next to him.

"Looks like you had a rough night, too." The Hyuuga propped her back against his.

"It wasn't too bad." He let out a sigh. "I just keep thinking about what Pain... or Nagato, kept talking about." He felt her shift to get more comfortable. "How about you?"

"Another dream... or... I don't know what they are, anymore." He could sense the bewilderment and even a tinge of fear in her. "It was like I was in another civilization with abundant technology and entirely different architecture."

"That sounds kind of neat." He tried to nudge her with his chakra.

"It was." She nudged back. "But... it felt almost like a forgotten memory."

"Kind of like that weird thing that happened with my shadow clone?" Having shadow clones return with apocalyptic memories wasn't exactly putting his fears to rest, either.

"Probably; I can't exactly see it for myself." There was a playful nudge from her chakra.

"Well, whatever is happening." He drew some of the syrupy chakra from around him as best he could. "I'll be sure to be strong enough to kick its ass!"

There was a giggle from behind him. "Just be sure to save some for the rest of us." There was a pang of... something... from within her. Naruto couldn't quite place it.

A few moments passed between the two. Dawn had begun to break when Naruto heard the familiar high-pitched buzz in his ear. _Damn gnats..._ The blonde had the perfect solution, however. Drawing from his chakra, he pulled the syrupy mixture into an expanding jolt of power that threw the insect away from his ear. Frog Kata was quite handy at casting away such distractions to meditation. Normally, it would have been much easier without natural chakra feeling like syrup, but he'd fix that problem one way or another.

He felt Hinata's surprise before she voiced it. "Naruto, what was that?"

"It's a technique the toads taught me when I trained with them." He explained. "They called it Frog Kata." However, only people who had trained in the Sage arts were supposed to be able to sense it. _Did Hinata...?_

"It just... looked kind of familiar to how the Empty Palm forms." Her chakra was abuzz with curiosity.

"You can see it?" Her chakra seemed to hum to the affirmative. "It uses nature chakra, so it is supposed to be invisible to anyone who isn't a Sage."

"Hmm..." She paused. "I'm pretty sure that just about any Hyuuga could see it. While we normally say we see chakra, we more accurately see shifts and changes in the chakra around us. The chakra networks in our bodies are specific patterns and tightly bound distortions in the world."

"Oh..." Naruto wasn't quite sure he understood. "So you can see my chakra when I go into Sage Mode?"

"I can see the flow of chakra around you shift. I've just never seen you use that technique up close, before."

"Wait... so that means the Byakugan only sees Nature chakra?" How did the toads miss that!?

"I... guess?" The Hyuuga shrugged. "It's disturbances that we see in chakra more so than the chakra, itself... Kind of like how sugar makes those shiny clouds in water because of the differences in density."

Naruto decided he'd have to try that. "Density..." He thought to the feeling of syrup around him. "That sounds kind of similar to how I feel the world when in Sage mode. Does that mean the Byakugan is like Sage Mode?"

"It... may be related." He could feel the anxiety boiling in her.

"Let's go find a field to try this out!" He bolted from the floor. "Maybe there is a way for you all to use Ninjutsu!"

* * *

Kakashi let one of his famous eye-smiles hit Danzo in the face after entering the temporary office of the Hokage. "Lord Hokage, a pleasant morning to you."

"We don't have to pretend to like each other, Hatake." Danzo extended a familiar briefing envelope. "You will find further details inside, but I would like to have a brief discussion with you before you leave."

"Of course." Kakashi shoved memories of Jiraiya's network to the back of his mind.

"This mission came at the personal request of the current leader of the Hidden Rain for Naruto Uzumaki from one our intelligence has identified as a former Akatsuki member." He paused, looking down at some paperwork. "I would not have let him go, of course, because of the obvious risk."

Kakashi had learned to trust Naruto's judgment of character over the years. Still, it was unlikely Konan was able to make a fully clean break from the Akatsuki. All manner of blackmail and subversion could be at play, here. "I completely agree with you, there."

"However, the Hidden Rain is industrially advanced and one such as Konan would be a powerful ally if genuine. The Hidden Sand has also expressed interest in a joint meeting between the three nations regarding the Akatsuki, trade, the usual list of things." Danzo locked eyes with Kakashi. "Since I can't send Naruto, I am expecting you to go as our next most sincere delegate to the Hidden Rain."

"I am honored, Lord Hokage." Kakashi paused. "I am not sure I am the best for political missions, however, unless you expect this to turn ugly."

"Even if it does not turn ugly," Danzo held his gaze "this is mostly about placing old tensions at ease to make it possible to have political and business relations to discuss in the first place. You will rally with a team from the Hidden Sand in a town located in the northern region of the Land of Rivers. You will then wait for a delegation from the Hidden Rain."

"Understood. Is there anything else?" The discussion seemed to be drawing to a close.

"That is all. You are dismissed." Danzo tapped some paperwork together.

The masked ninja took his leave of the office. In a way, he pitied Danzo. At first, the man's utilitarian outlook reminded him of all that was wrong about his teenage self. To a man like Danzo, people and relationships are tools to be used, maintained, and consumed as necessary. The older Kakashi became, the more he realized that in Danzo's world, Danzo is the only person. No matter the company, the man was always alone.

Hatake sighed – he couldn't say he felt alone, himself, but he certainly felt... incomplete. His lone uncovered eye meandered across faces, windows, and open doors as he passed through the village. A group of children dashed between some newly rebuilt alleyways as he passed a girl, borderline young woman, as she paid for some fish from the market. He stopped for a moment, his mind raced to understand why.

Ninja generations were easy enough to define in terms of master and student. Each practitioner of the arts takes on pupils who become students and finally become masters in their own right. He'd taught Sasuke all of the right techniques, but failed in terms of teaching the boy about life. True, the world of Ninjas was not necessarily filled with deep convictions to morals and relied, specifically, upon the ability to subvert ethics... but a world full of Sasukes was about as appealing as a world full of Danzos.

Kakashi wasn't exactly sure what he expected from Sasuke, or from his own actions regarding Sasuke. At first, it seemed simple-enough... teach the kid a few things about teamwork, show him some useful techniques he can use to be more effective on the team... and... then what? Despite the fact that he'd treated Sasuke's rebellious and vengeful behavior with a bit of indifference... he must admit that he'd wanted Sasuke to remain – to be a part of the family they had started to become.

The realization of that word hit fairly hard. _Family..._

By skill, luck, or curse, Kakashi Hatake had survived long enough as a Ninja to do more than hope to pass on a few tricks of the trade before meeting his end. _On second thought... it's probably better this way._ If Sasuke was any indication of how his children would turn out... _On the other hand... Naruto..._

Hatake shook his head, pushing his body along his route. Uzumaki was a handful of a different variety. Dying and being brought back to life was really starting to get to him. What could he truthfully offer a child, anyway? Or a woman, for that matter? He shook his head again, palming his forehead. _I really need to stop thinking about this..._

* * *

Sakura glared at the set of black, blinking rectangles on the floor, swiping a pink bang behind her ear. "So, what is this thing, Ino? The Oinkinator Nine-Thousand?"

The blonde turned. "I was going to get that one, but the Super Sow Five-Fifty was on sale, here."

Sakura's brow tightened above her right eye with her raised brow. "You know, you take all the fun out of it when you do that." Sakura's knees popped in protest as she knelt to analyze the alien device. "So... what is it?"

"Well, with the Hidden Rain not being isolationist hermits, recently, a few of their neat little do-dads are starting to make their way around." The blonde moved down to poke at a few of the buttons.

"Do-dad, Ino, really?" Sometimes, she was convinced the blonde was insane.

"Yeah, they are do-dads made of domaflitchits by thingamajigs." The blonde locked eyes with Sakura. Silence was the only appropriate response, so Ino continued. "So, anyway, this is a portable Karaoke machine. All of the awesomeness of a Karaoke club in a portable box and speaker set!"

The pinkette glanced back at the box, noting its numerous audio-related labeling. "So..." she looked back up at her blonde friend. "You bought this... on this _mission..._why?" She stressed the important word.

"Well, I saw Neji dancing in that club last night, and it just kind of seemed like the thing to do when I came across it in the store." A smile graced the blonde's lips. A dangerous smile that Sakura knew all too well. And what was that about Neji?

"Wait... Neji? … Are you thinking he will do it again?" There really didn't seem to be any logical connection between seeing a dancing Hyuuga and buying a Karaoke machine.

"Just think about it..." The blonde smirked - "all of the things people keep hidden beneath their surface..." she gave the machine a stroke.

"Unbelievable..." Sakura made a show of throwing her head back and palming her forehead. "We are on a mission to investigate ancient ruins of where people like Naruto and Pain came from... and you're trying to put on a musical."

"Exactly!" Ino spun with her finger in the air. "All of us should pretty much be dead." Sakura found her eyes locked onto Ino's. "I remember when I thought Gaara was as insanely strong as it got; or when Orochimaru seemed unstoppable." She let a pause hang. "Then we fought against Kakuzu and Hidan... and lost our Sensei as a team. We did finally stop them, and it seemed the Akatsuki wasn't invincible... until Pain single-handedly brought our entire village to its knees..." Sakura noted a bit of fluid build at Ino's lower lid.

The blonde continued after a brief silence. "That type of power... the type of beings we are dealing with... they flatten villages with all the effort we put into breaking a board. We aren't completely helpless... but … the day is going to come when Naruto can't save all of us, and may be doing all he can just to stay alive, himself. Or, worse..." The blonde glanced to where Hinata had been sleeping.

Sakura felt her brow twitch in mild confusion as she followed her friend's eyes. It took a moment for the realization to set in. "We really do take him for granted, don't we?" It was a bit more of a statement of fact than a question. Without fail, the Uzumaki boy had always shown up when the village or his friends were in dire straits. Sakura, herself, had even called out his name in desperation after seeing the village reduced to rubble in a single moment.

When push came to shove... Sakura had called upon Naruto to save her … and Hinata had answered the call to save Naruto, with virtually every guarantee of failure. In retrospect, it was a round-about way in which she'd succeeded. When push came to shove, Hinata had been stronger than Sakura, and it was a realization that was difficult for the headstrong Haruno to swallow.

"Whatever we are up against next, it will take more than virgin sacrifices to the Fox to pull us through it. If we can't handle singing songs together, then we sure as hell can't handle what is to come." Ino quirked her brow. "At the rate those two are going, she won't work as a virgin sacrifice for much longer."

"Ah," Sakura put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "For a second, I was wondering what you did with Ino."

* * *

[ Music: Youtube video reference; v=FffdGP8uKDs ]

"Attention all hands, attention all hands." Echoes of a male voice hammered through the cramped metal interior. "Snap-Count initiated, T-minus fifteen minutes to Snap. All hands lay to general quarters and carry on with Snap-Count. I say again; All hands lay to general quarters for Snap-Count." Something about the space was, once again, familiar.

"This way, miss." A man motioned from beside her. "We're riding with the humans who qualify as cargo for this jump." He walked through … a hatch, she recalled, was the proper term … "Don't want us getting in the way of the people who know what they are doing out here."

"Yes, of course." She heard herself reply. It was true enough... neither of 'herself' really seemed to know what was going on. She squeezed through the door ahead of the waiting man and made her way toward the small room... the term 'compartment' seemed to crawl from the recesses of her mind... lined with seats along either side. She knew it was where she was supposed to go in the event of just about anything announced over the speaker... there was supposed to be a specific term for that, but there was only so much the mind could retain in a half an hour explanation of the anally retentive vocabulary of people aboard ships.

"You'll want to be strapped in for this." The man motioned to the seats. "It's a hell of a ride even if you don't really go anywhere."

"I'm not sure I understand..." The principles of so-called 'SNAP-Drives' were relatively well understood from the standpoint of quantum mechanics. It was as simple, mathematically, as declaring that particles in one region of space were now in another region of space and energy dispersed to satisfy the gods of thermodynamics. Translating math to reality - "engineering" - was a bit of a different story, but local bodies shouldn't perceive anything changed at all, except for a few minor shifts in local gravity and a burst of spectrum-shifted radiation due to the differences in gravitational density creating temporal gradients through the different propagation rates of decoherent quantum states. Still, very minor unless you were trying to snap into a black hole or something.

"It's hard to describe." The man began strapping himself into his seat. "The best way I can think to put it is that while your body doesn't feel a thing, your soul is yanked a hundred light years across the galaxy in less than second."

The idea mulled through her head as she clicked a buckle between her legs. The speakers hammered an alert once again: "Attention all hands, T-minus ten minutes to Snap. Now prepare all hands for Zero-G and vacuum space. I say, again: now prepare all hands for Zero-G and vacuum space." She cast a sidelong glance at the man next to her as she began to fumble with the hood on her suit.

"They evacuate the spaces and shut down all non-essential systems before making a Snap." He explained, tightening the hood around his face before palming his helmet. "Don't mind any sparks right after we Snap – sometimes a few grains of asteroid end up being where we jump to." He paused for a second, perceiving the clench she felt in her stomach. "The suit is ballistic rated. You'll be fine."

She recognized the concepts of math floating through her mind, alien formulas with familiar conclusions. The difference between a rock thrown by someone and a rock accelerated by something like a ninjutsu was astronomical, and rocks in space could travel far faster than anything a jutsu could produce. Assuming it was on the outside of the suit when this 'snap' occurred to begin with. She felt it best not to entertain the thought any further.

"So," The man passed what seemed to be a critical eye over her; "How does it feel to be one of the chosen ones?" He latched his helmet to his suit.

A knot twisted in her stomach as she locked her own helmet into place. "I... I don't know." Was she really all that special? "I can't say I ever really wanted it."

His voice adopted a twang to its tone through the helmet speaker. "Well, I suppose it would be a problem if you did." A smirk tugged at his mouth. "Power and the desire for it often creates problems."

Where most people seemed to be in awe of her or to place her on a pedestal, recently... this man was appraising her as if she were a product on the line. "I'm not the first you've escorted?"

The smirk turned into a smile. "And you're all pretty sharp." He looked forward, breaking eye contact to continue: "I've seen seven chosen to various planets. You're the eighth."

"... Do you know where they are, now?" She bridged the thought: "What happened to them?"

"A different team picks them up." He never returned the eye contact. "Once you're done, there will be an extraction team in orbit ready to escort you to the academy for you chosen where you do the stuff that chosen people do."

This man stood on the horizon of where mortals became god-like beings. "It must be unsettling..."

"I'm not sure what gods feel, Miss." He seemed to chuckle.

"I meant for you." Her eyes caught the slight raise in his brow when he snapped around to look at her.

"Attention All Hands, Attention All Hands" the now-familiar voice blared through the helmet speakers. "T-minus five minutes for Snap. Now muster all hands within assigned spaces. I say again, now muster all hands."

Barely a moment passed before a female voice broke through. "All crew life signs present and accounted for. All environmental suits reading within tolerances. Snap reactor online, entanglement sensors online, distortion emitters online, all functioning systems; nominal."

"Confirming all hands mustered." The more familiar male voice continued. "Stand by for transition to minimal support systems. Gravity is now offline." The peculiar sensation of weightlessness filled her stomach as her head swam in dizziness. "Atmosphere is now being recovered." There were no noticeable changes, but she knew that life-giving air was no longer to be found outside her helmet. "Now begin final systems checks and make ready for Snap transition."

There were a few moments of silence.

"Yeah." The man next to her clicked through the helmet speaker. "It is a bit unsettling." He seemed to tongue a few words inside his closed mouth before he continued. "My entire existence is a stone beside a path walked by gods, yet, in the same way, I've escorted more gods into existence than the number of children most women birth into the world."

Few words were shared between the two as the minutes counted down to seconds. "All hands prepare for Snap transition in T-minus Twenty..." She found it impossible to control the hammering of her heart in her chest. "Fifteen." She caught herself breathing shallow and rapid and forced her breaths deeper. "Ten." She knew her face was twisted in anxiety when she looked across to the man next to her. "Five." He flashed a small sign of encouragement. "Four... Three... Two... One..."

True to the description, she felt her mind spread across unfathomable depths of space. For a brief moment, the universe and time, itself, was filled with one thought. _All of those gods are alone..._.

* * *

[Author's Notes]

This chapter was a bit of a pain to write for numerous reasons that I won't bore everyone with.

I also find myself distracted by events in the world, today. This is not the place for me to go into a lengthy discussion about what is wrong, why it is wrong, and discuss what the proper state of things would look like (making things 'right' is less about what 'needs to be done' and more about 'what we are delusional for trying'). I am, also, quite sure that many of you would find me quite unorthodox while vehemently disagreeing with me.

I will simply end this while making the suggestion that there are two ways to look at the world. You can view the world as a flawed existence that requires our genius and ingenuity to become perfect. - Or, you can view the world as a perfect existence with a purpose we are to use our genius and ingenuity to understand and cooperate with to achieve perfection.

It is a subtle difference in perspective, but it makes all the difference in how one approaches the world and the challenges within it. Beware of those who believe that perfection lay within the human mind. I do not believe I will have time to properly express this within the story before it is too late.

Allow me to propose a scenario to you all. A hypothetical airliner takes off for an experiment regarding the feasibility of trans-generational missions. Capable of flying and sustaining a population for centuries on end, the fourth generation in the airliner has been born into a world where the only ground is that of the airliner and a mythological place called "Earth." They've never seen the ground, never walked upon it, and therefor have absolutely no appreciation of what it is capable of. However, throwing the yoke forward in the cockpit makes for some fun anti-gravity like effects. Why not set the yoke forward so that everyone can simply live in a weightless environment?

Might I propose that our entire civilization from 1914 onward has been built around that premise... and might I propose that we are children who have forgotten about the ground from which our ancestors took flight.

You all take care of yourselves, and those around you. I'll try to put together some kind of post somewhere explaining in more detail for those who are curious that I can link to at the end of another chapter.

I'll also warn that I'm going to probably end up populating the Genin teams with a lot of 'cross-over' characters... just because that is going to be hard for me to keep track of, and also for you all to really be inspired to care much about them unless they are analogues of something you're possibly already familiar with.

Again, thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed.


	9. 09: TaiYin

Foreword:

Continuing straight through from the end of my previous chapter. I'm in a binge-writing mood. Writer's block cleared and active for the next thirty minutes – six month cool-down on that ability. Got to make the best of it.

* * *

Chapter 9: TaiYin

Air sucked in above her stomach, clenched for an upright bolt. Her body swayed beneath her in the suspended hammock, the gentle motion clashing with the hammering of the Hyuuga's heart. A bell was ringing from above.

"Eight bells and all is well!" A voice called from beyond the berthing space.

A ship. Memory floated back to her. She was Hinata Hyuuga, currently aboard a ship bound for the ruins of Uzushiogakure – the Village Hidden in the Swirling Tides. The porthole offered no light, it had to be early in the pre-dawn, she reasoned.

"Another dream?" Naruto's voice came from the floor a few paces away.

She felt her face heat. "You noticed?"

"Yeah..." She could practically see him rub the back of his head just from the tone in his voice. "I wanted to do something … but … I didn't really know what to do..." It suddenly occurred to Hinata that this was one of the rare moments where Naruto was speaking just above a whisper as opposed to blasting at full volume.

"I'm sorry..." The timidness of her response did not escape her own ears. The thought that she was disturbing him, or the others in the same berthing, sank in her stomach.

"I've just been meditating." He seemed to shrug in the darkness. "It's kind of different with all the rocking." Her brow clenched in a bit of a squint. Her blonde was almost always up before her. Even after returning from his training with Lord Jiraiya, Sakura would complain of his penchant for sleeping in.

"Would you be okay with some company?" Somehow, sleep didn't seem a reasonable expectation any longer.

"I guess..." Her heart sunk a little with his tone. "just don't wake up Sakura."

A pained bit of confusion tugged from within her mind as she rolled out of her hammock to place bare feet upon the sandalwood floor – or 'deck' as she was instructed to call it. It wasn't until she sat against his back that she identified the emotion held within his posture. Embarrassment. _Oh, he thought I was asking if someone else should join the conversation..._ She moved her chakra in a way to try and comfort his.

His response was both appreciative and genuine, but tense and exhausted. Where there were gentle breezes across the beach or swift storms across the plains, clouds now billowed tall upon thick air as cyclones tore fruitlessly against the Earth. She brushed her own chakra gently against his, beckoning for him to move – for his storms to sweep and dance rain upon parched fields.

A slight breeze lifted her hair in response. It was sincere, but his attention was obviously elsewhere. As if to answer her question, she felt a pair of eyes – a tinge of an ominous, familiar chakra glare from a tree line to her left. A fox stood just at the edge of the field, its head tilted at a curious angle. It was no larger than an average fox, in her estimation. Distance, size – even space were abstract things, puppets of shadow against a windswept screen.

It was a far cry from the beast she'd felt in her faded state. The fox straightened its head, never breaking eye contact. The gaze was probing, an aura of genuine curiosity surrounding it. If she didn't know better, she would have guessed this was the first time the beast had ever laid eyes upon a girl and had no idea what to make of her existence.

The air suddenly changed. What was once thick and heavy was pulled into a thin wisp. Her breath was nearly drawn from her as a massive cyclone tore across the field between her and the fox. She caught the flash of fur as the fox darted back into the trees before the cyclone began uprooting the forest in its pursuit.

She withdrew herself back into reality, turned to the man she wished to become her companion, and wrapped her arms around him. Something had to be done to bring Naruto and the Fox out of conflict. She was no expert, but the trees were as much a part of him as his winds were. The boy was quite literally petrified of the Fox gaining control, again.

* * *

Tendons popped taut across bone as muscle fibers strained under the stretch. It had been somewhat unusual for his rival to approach him for a personal request. Sure, the two had served together on many missions and each knew they could trust each other with their lives; but Might Gai was blatantly more interested in Kakashi's attention than the white haired ninja was interested in the bowl cut jonin. So, it came as a surprise when Kakashi personally requested Gai accompany him for a mission straight from the interim Hokage.

He shifted his body to hold another stretch, this time on his leg. It didn't take the genius of a Nara to figure out why, either. Walking to meet as a liaison with one of the very people responsible for attacking the Leaf only months prior did not sit well with either Jonin. Naruto's Flames of Youth had certainly inspired many people to embrace a common goal in harmony as opposed to conflict... but you didn't live long enough to be a Jonin by always viewing the glass as half full... or assuming it to be for drinking.

Finished with his stretch routine, he looked at the neon glow above the pitch black ground. He liked to think of it that his youthful flame both summoned and inspired the Great Youth in the Sky that was soon to greet the world. How much brighter would the day be if more would join him in welcoming such a wonderful thing into the world? He knelt next to his still-sleeping rival, face contorting in mild surprise as his knees let loose a series of popping noises.

"Good morning, Kakashi!" He cheered, encouraging his rival to rise with strength to meet the day.

"I've been awake, Gai." The lazy voice seemed to sigh from behind the mask. "And by the sound of it, we're running out of youth."

Gai couldn't suppress his smile. "Nonsense, Kakashi!" He rose, knees once again popping. "That's just the flames of my Youth crackling with joy!"

"Well, I suppose that is one way to look at it." Gai's rival rose to a slumped position before he made to stand.

"You know, Kakashi," He started "Youth is not what you are, it is something you exert."

A brief silence passed between the two before an ember in the ashen remains of the fire popped. Gai seized the opportunity.

"Our bodies are fuel for the Flames of Youth. Every fuel has its limits, but even the last ember can pass a new, brilliant flame on to someone willing to bear them." He paused, giving another smile. "I don't want to smolder and leave behind chunks of potential. May my final days leave behind only ash to feed the trees!"

The other Jonin seemed to quirk his brow and take a moment to contemplate the sentiment. "Embers, huh?" He dusted off his pants.

"Dim flames leave behind charred and wasted remains, Kakashi." Gai patted his comrade on the back. "Make sure your flame burns bright, and everything will be fine!"

The two mutually began kicking dirt over the fire. Gai couldn't deny the irony. Still, leaving exposed embers to start fires or let any genin with half a brain accurately track them was bad ninja-ing. Making a fire in the first place was not exactly smart ninja-ing, but they were still within Fire territory – because borders on a map were effective means of controlling rival ninjas.

Gai shrugged. They wanted a fire, they made one, and they were alive to tell about it. Just best not to make a habit of it for small teams.

"Alright, then..." Kakashi eye-smiled with the morning sun flashing across his face. "To a bright flame?"

"A bright flame, indeed, Kakashi!" He flashed a tooth-sparkling thumbs-up before the two leaped into the trees.

* * *

"Alright!" Kabuto's hood scratched against the new scales atop his head. "That was really good, guys. I'm impressed you have picked it up this fast."

The dark tunnels echoed with a chorus of joy.

"Okay, again, from the top! This needs to be just right!" If there was one thing Kabuto enjoyed, it was coming up with ways to surprise people.

* * *

Danzo never thought he would see the day when he would do anything to have Hiashi Hyuuga walk through the door. He wouldn't even berate the man for barging right into his office. Sorano Hyuuga was in his office, and society just wouldn't understand how better off it would be if he simply killed her. Every day he sat in this chair, he found himself filled with more respect for his old rival.

"So, as you can see..." Sorano wrapped up the lecture he thought would never end, "It is essential for the Hyuuga to preserve its line of Head Family succession. It is imperative that Hanabi Hyuuga be returned to the village post-haste in order to restore security to the Hyuuga Clan."

Danzo could respect the various arts that Ninja clans passed down – their abilities and specialties. However... "Did the Hyuuga not agree to yield the named individuals to the service of the Hidden Leaf?" Ninja clans almost always seemed to have questionable allegiance to the villages they called home.

"Indeed, we did. Circumstances, however, have prompted us to propose a re-negotiation of the service contract for Hanabi." Sorano's voice had a dry sound to it.

"The circumstances you mentioned were in play when the decision was made. Hanabi, Hinata, and Neji were all individually assigned to the Leaf for their primary duties; Hanabi little more than a year ago." He allowed his brow to visibly quirk. "A failure to properly assess your hereditary lines then does not give you ground to stand upon, now." This whole thing was giving him eerie reminders of the whole Uchiha fiasco. Many talented ninja were lost and an entire cadre of unique capabilities were forever stricken from the Leaf's assets. It was not an easy decision to make, even when the concept of human lives was eliminated from the equation.

"Surely, though, it would be to the Leaf's disadvantage to have the Hyuuga thrown into disarray." The woman's face didn't falter.

Danzo forced a breath out through his nose. "The fact that it is you here, and not Hiashi, tells me that the Hyuuga are already in disarray." He allowed his brow to narrow at the woman before him. "I will not drag the Leaf into your petty squabbles. The Village is not a tool to be brokered between Clans."

"Just as the Clans are not weapons in the pockets of feudal lords. The Hyuuga are not merely a resource to be exploited. Complete apathy toward our Clan's difficulties leaves us little reason to commit to the Leaf." Sorano's voice remained level.

Danzo let a brow visibly perk. A solid retort, if he did say so, himself. "Lady Sorano, I am sure you are aware that the founding charter of the Hidden Leaf lays out guidelines for the relationship between the Village authority and the structure of the Noble Clans." Knowledge, however, was power. "Article seven deals with the relation between Noble Clans and the Village. Section One establishes the definition of a Noble Clan as the Village accepts. Item Four, specifically, requires that a Noble Clan nominate one individual to serve as the official liaison between any internal Clan governments and the authorities of the Village." Danzo placed his hands on the table.

"Section Two outlines the duties of the Village to the Noble Clans. Item One – the first thing our charter has to say about the duties of the Village to the Clans – is that the duties are only that which is expressed in the charter. That is to say, that if it does not appear in the Charter as a duty, then it is not a duty." Danzo kept a copy in the left hand drawer of his desk for just such conversations. He withdrew it and set it upon the table. "You may review it if you like. Nowhere does the Village Charter list the duty of taking sides in an internal political dispute. Thus, it would be against the charter that founded our village to do such a thing." He allowed himself to feign exasperation; "I could end up in jail. Not only would I be making cavalier agreements with people who are not the designated representatives of the Clan, but I would also be acting in ways exclusively forbidden by our village charter. And why should any Clan be a part of our village if the Charter can be so easily defied?"

"You would stand before a Hyuuga and claim yourself a vanguard of contract integrity? The Hyuuga know well of your duplicity, Danzo." A slight scowl appeared on the woman's face.

"And you would stand as a Hyuuga while sowing your own duplicity?" Danzo kept his voice level. Nothing pissed off a Hyuuga more than 'out-Hyuuga-ing' them. "I suggest you clear my office, and your head, before continuing with whatever course of action you have planned."

* * *

[Music: Smooth McGroove's Acapella Rendition of One Winged Angel; youtube reference – **v=0s20588opz4** ]

_Unusual would be an understatement..._ Tobi knew something was off as he entered his compound. No sooner had he manifested at the mouth of the cave had breathy chanting noises echoed forth to greet him. Zetsu was known for his somewhat naive, goofy nature... but the entire cave of Zetsu spontaneously taking it upon themselves to organize an acapella choir was quite unprecedented.

Tobi's footsteps fell synchronous with the breathy beat, a cascade of tweets trilled from alternating locations throughout the cave. A chorus of 'trumpets' rose and fell in within the winding chambers. The quality of this … production … left the masked figure even more convinced that this was far from Zetsu's usual pranks. 'Drums' rolled around corners, 'cymbals' clashed from various corners... the overall effect could be said to be impressive.

Tobi briefly considered using Zetsu as a traveling acapella orchestra should Infinite Tsukuyomi not pan out as anticipated. It was at that moment something completely unexpected occurred. Zetsu began harmoniously chanting in Latin. Tobi was fortunate enough to be an educated man, and his mind translated the words as he heard them:

"Estuans interius

_Yearning within_

Ira vehementi

_For the mortal struggle_

Estuans interius

_Yearning within_

Ira vehementi

_for the mortal struggle_

Madara!

Madara!"

A series of 'trumpets' blasted triumphantly. Tobi allowed his masked brow to raise. Quite to the point, this rendition was.

"Sors immanis

_Fate looms_

Et inanis

_It's vain!"_

The tone of the choir shifted to primarily drum rolls and higher pitched trills. A few immitated trumpets signaled another shift in the tone before it dropped low:

"Veni, Veni, Venias

_Come, come, do come!_

Ne me mori facias

_I shall defeat our death"_

Tobi suppressed the urge to summon a Sun-destroying meteor at the moment, as it seemed the only way to appropriately express the tone. If only he had enough power... The lyrics, simple and repetitive as they were, captured Madara's vision almost perfectly...

An echoing chorus of separate voice joined the previous:

"Gloriosa

_Glorious!_

Generosa

_Noble!_"

And that, Tobi had to agree, Madara was.

Still... where the hell had this come from? The original chorus was already beginning to repeat as he approached the hideout's main chamber. Somewhere in the depths of these caves Zetsu referred to as bowels, there was an answer to all of this. Tobi's lone exposed eye, however, shot open at the sight as he rounded the corner. Sitting in the all-too-familiar casket of an Edo summon was the subject of the song... Madara Uchiha.

"Ah, welcome, Tobi! I hope you enjoyed the performance." A hooded man of vaguely reptilian features slithered his words. "I do believe we have much to discuss in regards to a mutually beneficial arrangement!"

* * *

[Music: Two Steps From Hell; "Atlantis" - youtube reference **v=iO9ZOF0st0k **]

A few strands of dark blue hair danced across the blonde's cheeks. Streaks of glistening light danced from his companion's bangs in the morning sun as it rose above the island in the distance. Frankly, he was torn between which was more captivating, the Hyuuga standing beside him, or the scene in front of him, if the two could even be said to be different. Her hair was as shifting as the seas beneath them, her presence as promising as the solid land ahead of them.

There were still so many questions... his heritage, his blood, came from this island. The seal for the Fox came from this island... as did the first people who bore it within them. If there were anywhere for him to learn to keep his friends safe from the raging demon within him, it would be here.

Hinata turned, hair swept in front of her face before her hand tucked it behind her ear. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth before a yawn cast her gaze aside with a blush. "Today is the big day."

"Yeah..." That was another thing. Hinata's fitful dreams. He could feel it while he was meditating in Sage Mode... there was more to those dreams than just the brain doing a data-dump. He wasn't a great analyst and had no idea where to begin to figure out what was going on... but something was certainly off ever since that whole Uchiha compound ordeal where he found her unconscious in that creepy room with the tomb-stone looking thing.

A gentle nudge broke his train of thought. He caught Hinata's pale orbs staring back into his eyes, concern dusted the edges of welcoming depths. A moment later, she leaned some of her weight against him. He'd always been told that women were soft, but... pillows were soft... Hinata was better than any pillow he'd ever encountered. No one, however, had really warned him about what a powerful thing a simple curve was. All she had to do was push a part of that hip of hers against him and it took every ounce of will power to not wrap himself around her in blissful indulgence.

Again, Naruto knew he was no great thinker or philosopher... but it simply boggled his mind how something like the curve of a hip to be so amazing. But it was... without fail. When that jacket of hers came off, his eyes were drawn like magnets to that spot where the Hyuuga's hip curved back into her stomach. It was scary, in a way, since it happened without him even realizing it. Honestly, a Genjustu still made as much sense to the blonde as anything else.

"Okay, you two..." Shizune casped them both on opposite shoulders. "Time to get everyone up and ready to do this."

"Make ready all shore parties, Aye-Aye, Ma'am!" Lee bolted to a salute from nearby.

There was a brief pause. "He spent the past couple days reviewing stuff about naval customs." Tenten's voice echoed from below. "Just let him have his fun."

Naruto couldn't really say he disliked the fact that Lee was enthusiastic. Still, something about the guy seemed... off. The blonde shrugged. Who was he to point fingers? He, Naruto Uzumaki, wore an orange jumpsuit as an aspiring young Ninja.

"Revelie! Revelie!" Lee's voice boomed after he darted below. "All hands heave out and up, up, up!"

Naruto briefly noted that everyone's eyes had found the stoic male Hyuuga known as Neji. "Yep." The tone was the trademarked Hyuuga Classic. "I told her not to buy him that book." He simply stood, his features betraying no change of emotion.

* * *

Kakashi recognized the two siblings of the Kazekage immediately as they crested the footpath's hill. Temari and Konkuro were quite distinguished people, perhaps almost more so than himself, at this point. At least if things went to hell in a hurry, he had some strong allies he knew he could depend upon.

"It's an honor." Temari smiled as they neared. "Kakashi of the Sharingan and Might Gai."

"As it is for us, as well!" Gai trumpeted. "To be in the presence of such great youth as the legendary Sand Siblings!" He gripped his palm in a thumbs-up.

Kakashi noted the perk in the brow of both Sand ninja. "You'll get used to Gai's antics."

"Come now, Kakashi! What of our talk of bright flames?" Gai seemed to recoil at the lack of support.

"I'd rather we just get the travel over with." Temari's voice seemed to freeze the mood. "Sweeping for surprises is much easier in the daylight." She pushed herself off the path, in the direction of their objective.

"A sound strategic decision, indeed!" Gai trumpeted.

"Well, he's just the fountain of joy I've heard he is." Kankuro gave a chuckle, making to follow his sister.

"I prefer to think of it as a Fountain of Youth." Gai stopped short of leaping into the trees. "Are you coming, Kakashi?"

For his part, Kakashi finished the final signs for his summoning jutsu. "Just getting us some extra eyes on the path ahead." He slammed his palm into the ground and a pack of dogs sprung from the resulting vapor of chakra. What he wouldn't give to have his blonde student and his opal-eyed girlfriend at the moment. A whole disposable army of trap-triggering knuckleheads combined with what he'd heard was at least ten kilometers of nearly perfect awareness in every direction.

Kakashi realized that the two made a completely sadistic infiltration or assault combination... the only ones to be surprised by traps and defensive positions would be the people who organized them in the first place. Well... and Naruto was able to stand toe to toe with a guy who single-handedly destroyed a whole village and its contingent of ninja. Including Naruto in any analysis was generally unfair to whatever was on the other end of the equation.

"Alright, let's be off." The newly formed team pushed ahead into the forest.

* * *

[Music: Final Fantasy VIII; "The Landing" - **v=3v6BtJaBQmo** ]

"Okay," Shikamaru panned his gaze across the group before him. "the only maps we have are pretty old. We are going to perform this insertion as if there are hostile forces present and just as we practiced a couple times before we left port."

He scanned the faces in front of him for comprehension. "The currents around the island are fairly swift and riptides near the shore are both frequent and unpredictable. Most of you have demonstrated solid ability to walk on water, but keep an eye out for each other. We will be doing our best to keep you all safe, but if you see someone go down, make a lot of noise to get our attention."

Briefings were a drag. Everyone had already heard this and countless other instructions a dozen times, already. "We don't know what is on that island or if someone has beat us to it. Our job is to get everyone to shore quickly and be ready to meet any threat encountered with full force as soon as possible. Are there any questions before we begin?" He scanned for signs of hesitation and found only an air of confidence about the group.

"Alright..." He paused, attempting to develop projection for his next statement; "Let's move!"

The teams rapidly boarded a combination of Sai's ink-work birds and a host of large bird summons from a girl of an obscure family line known for their summons. How Danzo had missed Rydia's talents in his initial assessment was a mystery to be settled later, but the ability to form multiple summoning contracts while performing summons without blood sacrifice was curious. Sai's birds were fairly fragile and were boarded by those who were secure in their ability to run on water.

Once all teams were aboard their flights, the whole company of ninjas took to the air. Salt bit at the Nara's skin through the spray of water as they drove their birds fast and just above the waves. One would normally expect the Nara to be in command, but this part of the operation was under the watchful eye of the Hyuuga Heiress. She and his Yamanaka teammate were hanging to the far southern flank, using the platinum blonde's telepathic abilities to administer updates and commands as needed.

Currently, the teams were fanning out in an apparent bid to claim a four kilometer swath of shoreline. The flanks would, however, converge in the last moments to land inside a much narrower corridor established by the teams landing closer to the center. In a sense, the teams that currently appeared to be the point of an assault would land and become the new flank for the remaining teams to funnel into a push to the interior of the island.

The Nara peeked his head up to snag a glance at the approaching island. There were a few other surprises embedded in the plan. It was almost time for two of those.

He took a few breaths to clear his lungs. Just as the ocean chop gave way to rolling waves, Shikamaru rolled off of the bird to land atop solid water along with several others who would storm the beach. At the same time, the remainder of the point team took their birds into a vaulting climb. The threat they posed suddenly went from low level air insertion to amphibious with combat air support.

He pushed with the point team onto the beach, uncontested thus far. He used a bit of chakra to keep the sand more stable beneath his feet. It was a bit of a lazy tactic, but exhaustion was an equal opportunity saboteur. He had just reached the beach when a few copies of Naruto began raining from the skies – plenty of opportunities to use shadows to freeze anything and everything in place until everyone was ashore.

"We are still showing clear." Ino's voice 'simply was' inside his head. He still couldn't quite describe what the telepathic voice sounded like... or was... He just knew that it was Ino and what she was saying. That was as simple and complicated as it got.

A sudden flare of chakra caught the Nara's attention. A stream of kunai lanced from a scroll on a bird that could only belong to Tenten. The stream slammed into the forest underbrush with a bit more than a hundred paces into the tree line ahead. Steel rained as if it were razor sharp liquid upon the space, a regular beat of exploding kunai tags shook the ground. He could feel the group around him become tense and alert.

"Ah, sorry." Ino broke into his mind, again. "Tenten just got all excited over a bear. Hinata can see clear to the village ruins and hasn't seen anything concerning, yet."

The Nara couldn't figure out if that put him at ease, or made him more suspicious. Perhaps his own training lectures had gone to his head and all of the work-up to this moment was over-estimating the importance. Somehow, though, he expected the abandoned ruins to put up a bit more of a fight. In the world of ninjas, it made sense to expect such things.

"... And we're ashore!" He heard Ino's voice carry from behind him. "Hinata has us all present and accounted for."

Shikamaru broke his stance to pan his view along the beach. His team formed the Southern most flank, now. The birds that had remained airborne were landing gracefully to the North amid the newly arrived aerial flanks from before. "Good work." He caught a curt nod from the Hyuuga. "Let's get regrouped and make for the village ruins. We need to make camp and get a watch rotation set up before the day gets too late." He looked up at the sky. It was still midway through the morning, no later than ten. Still, that only left about eight to ten hours of daylight depending upon what the weather did.

* * *

"Lord Hokage," an Anbu member addressed from the door; "a message has been received from the Hidden Cloud."

He'd seen some intel reports that the Raikage's brother had been abducted. This could be interesting. "Enter." The Anbu slid the door aside, closed the distance, and formally presented a carrier pigeon scroll. Danzo retrieved the scroll, leaving the man to stand without further prompt as he read.

He squinted his brow at the Raikage's missive. As Hokage, he had sent requests to begin collaborating with other villages against the Akatsuki. While there was a reason behind the Land of Fire being the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind being the Land of Wind – simply because the two were under different rules with different lifestyles didn't mean the two had to be antagonistic. A friendly neighbor was as much in the interest of the Leaf as it was to the Sand.

He had yet to receive any yea or nay responses... but the Raikage could be said to be aboard, calling for a meeting among the Hokage to make some kind of decision on what to do about the Akatsuki. Most interesting was that the last known Uchiha, Sasuke, was implicated in the abduction of the Raikage's brother. The Raikage was often rather unreasonable to begin with. He was not interested in the other villages so much as he was interested in berating everyone into helping him blow up something that pissed him off – or at least a tacit agreement to not make war against him for his own village blowing up the Akatsuki wherever they happened to be.

Still, if it brought everyone to the table...

"Stand by." He ordered the Anbu. "I will pen my reply for you to send out." As he began his written response to the Raikage, he figured it was best to send a reply to each of the other Kage, as well, announcing his own agreement to attend.

He appealed to the Tsuchikage's tendency to weigh options carefully and to consider different opinions. What better place than a meeting of the squabbling Kage to get varied opinions and to offer forth his own depth of experience?

He didn't need to really say much to the Raikage other than agree to the idea of a meeting. He was, after all, the one who was hot under the collar for it, now.

The Mizukage was from a troubled and conflicted area with a revolving door for many of its leadership positions. Not only would she be valuable for her experience with revolutionary figures, but a civil meeting among people could help to prevent more chaos in the greater part of the Ninja world.

The Kazekage liked meeting with people – he wouldn't need much prodding, but it would be rude to leave him out at this point.

Within all, he suggested allowing the Samurai to serve as a neutral ground and meeting moderator. It would be much easier to bring the Kage together if there was a neutral ground. He would sit on the knowledge that the Hidden Rain had reached out to the Leaf's Jinchuriki, at least for now and until he knew more about what came of the meeting.

* * *

Uzumaki wasn't quite sure what he expected... perhaps something more akin to the abandoned Uchiha compound... a haunting and ghastly reminder of what once was, or could have been. He expected the ruins to give off a sense of emptiness, loss, and decay.

It was the opposite, if it was anything. Spare for the subtle sounds of ninja footsteps, insects chirped a chorus of nature while water seemed to flow in babbling undertones from everywhere. The breeze gently shifted the trees, into dancing shadows. Sure – there were broken buildings and evidence of a war long forgotten... but instead of the remains being haunting, it was as if the whole region was welcoming guests long in the waiting.

Where the Uchiha Compound seemed to stand for what was lost... the Uzumaki village seemed to stand for what was found. Though, perhaps that was simply a subtle difference in perspective on his own part. Although, judging by the actions of the others around him, they felt the same way.

He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. "Feels like home, doesn't it?" Hinata stood next to him, doing that thing where she watched him through her Byakugan while looking another direction. It was a cool ability and he was glad she had it, and all... but it was hard to get used to, for some reason. You could get away with picking your nose or adjusting your underwear while normal people were looking the other direction. Hours of discomfort had met the blonde for fear that his attempts to contain his renegade manhood would be discovered and Hinata would think he was a closet rapist, or something.

Which, as he thought about it... was just ridiculous. She wasn't always using her Byakugan and if she was – she already knew about any renegade manhood issues he had to begin with, and probably figured it more weird that he didn't do anything about it. … "Wait, Hinata, do I look naked to you, right now?"

A few moments of silence passed. "I... I'm sorry?"

The blonde realized his question had nothing to do with what she'd asked... and counteracted any attempts to not look like a creep. "Uh... well..." His brain now registered both her question and his responding question to begin extrapolating the potential thoughts running through her mind. Since none of the possibilities were good, his brain simply ceased functioning. "I mean..." His brain was still failing to provide answers on what to say. "I … didn't mean that any of the ways it probably sounded." He slumped into a bit of a cringe in preparation for what, his brain didn't really tell him.

"We barely set foot in the place and the guy is already gunning to restore his clan." Ino smirked from afar. "That building over there" she pointed to a building that was primarily masonry but overgrown with vines "looks like it's still fairly intact. We could make it private quarters for you two, if you want."

Naruto wasn't quite sure if the heat in his face was embarrassment, anger, or anger at being embarrassed. The Hyuuga's face was still hidden from his, though it seemed to be tilted down. A new presence stood in front of him.

"It is nothing to be embarrassed about." The morbidly pale face of Sai gave a genuine smile. "I have read that it is natural for memories of home to spur a desire for young men to create a home of their own."

Sai... bless his heart... or curse his cunning genius. The blonde was never sure if Sai just pretended to not understand out of some diabolical plot to mind-fuck everyone, or if he truly just didn't get it. The insults he got away with because he was the epitome of socially awkward and naive... "I didn't mean it that way, would you all just stop, already?"

The ghostly pale ninja seemed to take note of Hinata's down-turned expression and shifted into her apparent field of view. "Do not fret, I am sure Naruto will be willing to impregnate you in time." The blonde's muscles flashed over with anger.

"A-and that's enough counseling from Sai, today." The mindwalker whisked by with a smile as she nudged Sai out of earshot.

"What?" He protested along the way "It is a perfectly normal desire for a young woman to have."

"I'm sorry..." The Hyuuga next to him squeaked. "I never really thought about how weird we are."

Could she read minds with those eyes, too? "I..." He retrieved his hand from the back of his head after he realized it belonged around the Hyuuga's shoulders. "It was just something that hit me, and I was just an idiot about it. I'm sorry for putting you on the spot."

"No," Her hair pulled slightly against his arm with the shake of her head. "I use this so casually without ever thinking about how it must feel for others..."

"Hey" He gave her a squeeze; "It's okay. It doesn't really bother me... and it doesn't seem to bother anyone else, either." They all seemed more interested in the idea of Hyuzumaki children than what Hinata's Byakugan was capable of.

She shifted in his arm, her jacket added a warmth to the natural fluffiness of her presence. "I guess you do deserve an answer, though." He felt her take a breath. "It's like seeing both your clothes and you at the same time."

"That's... neat, I guess." He shrugged. "But I guess it's how you've always seen us, so it's not a big deal." Although Naruto was now suddenly curious what she thought about what she saw. It was a nagging impulse he squelched into the back of his mind. She also deserved a proper answer. "I never thought I could live anywhere else but the Leaf." He cast his gaze across the overgrown remains before him. "I'm not sure if I could live here... but, I do just feel like this place wants to be lived in, again."

"It seems... incomplete, like something has been left undone." The way she said it, the look she gave him; both seemed to suggest there was more she sensed.

* * *

[music: Smooth McGroove; Team Rocket Hideout Acapella: **v=eI_CkvlHm_Y** ]

"Sasuke, what the hell is all this about?" Karin glared from behind her glasses at the rogue.

For his part, Sasuke was wondering the same thing. No sooner had he set foot inside the place he was supposed to meet Madara at did a bunch of Zetsu clones crop out of the walls and begin … whatever this was. Heads bobbed back and forth, chanting in unison to form some kind of musical composition or another. "We are guests in this cave, Karin." Madara didn't seem like the type to enjoy this sort of thing, but who were they to judge? Kabuto spent months working on a way to make 'dancing flames' with the candles in Orochimaru's hideout. No one else cared to change all of the things out when they burned down, so there wasn't much room to protest.

"Yeah... so who is your new buddy who sent us on this fetch request?" Karin leered over her hips.

"We've been over this before, Karin." Sasuke slipped a blade into his tone. This was his revenge, and the more they knew, the more they would want to impart their simplistic views on things.

"Let's just go." Jugo stepped into the cave. "The rest of us will find out once we get there."

As the team walked further into the cave, the chanting grew more disorientating. The melody was a bit chaotic to begin with, but making matters worse was that it was voiced by Zetsu from seemingly random positions... and then it echoed. As improbable as it seemed, Sasuke knew this had to be the work of Kabuto. That creepy, snake-worshiping bastard was still finding ways to fuck with his head.

"You know, this would be so much less stressful if these things were all dead." Suigetsu spun his executioner's blade around.

"Killing them is the most frustrating part." Sasuke recalled from Orochimaru's research into Zetsu. "There are virtually an infinite number of them. Kill one and another one just regrows."

The team rounded another corner. "Still, if we kill a few, the ones left alive should want to remain that way." The swordsman punched a nearby Zetsu after it looked at him and made a sound effect.

"Zetsu was a research project Orochimaru kept coming back to." Karin shifted her eyes across the Zetsu lining the hall. Her voice cracked a bit as she elevated it above the surrounding Zetsu. "He had a lot of notes on them. Apparently, they are a sort of hive consciousness. Each one has the memories and personality of all the others. Each Zetsu is kind of like a disposable shell for the larger mind behind them."

"No wonder they seem so care free." Jugo stopped to look at a nearby Zetsu. "It would be like clipping his nails to kill all of them in this cave."

"No wonder they don't give a shit." Suigetsu grunted as a Zetsu head rolled by the team's feet. Sasuke let his gaze follow Karin and Jugo's to settle on the swordsman. "What? It made me feel better, and it's not like he cares." He motioned to the Zetsu, still chanting their song as if nothing happened.

* * *

[music: Two Steps From Hell - "War of Angels" **v=AXMOLP3v0Ao** ]

Her paper fluttered restlessly in the wind. It had been many years since the Hidden Rain ninja had to rely on her own skills to keep a watch over the world around her. Konan knew it was for the better that Nagato had found release in a sacrificial death... but there was an emptiness at her side that was sorely felt at times like this.

Rusty as she was, though, it did not appear as though the Leaf or Sand were attempting to put her skills to the test. She caught traces of movement at the periphery of the town before she caught sight of two groups of two moving up the main road and a branch road. Neither Naruto or Gaara were present among them, but she didn't honestly expect either village to commit to something so reckless.

Still, Gaara's siblings and Naruto's sensei were substantially more than the nameless mooks she expected. The two younger ninja were not as accomplished or storied as the Copy Ninja and the Blue Beast of Konoha, but they kicked around with a Jinchuriki for the better part of a decade and were still alive to talk about it. Kakashi and Gai had each taken down at least one Akatsuki member with support from ninja of the Sand Siblings' generation.

Konan sighed and scrawled some text across a piece of chakra paper before her power folded it into a small crane. While neither the Sand or Leaf were known for duplicity, the fact of the matter was that she had been a wanted criminal and part of an organization that directly assaulted both villages. She, herself, killed many in the Leaf before Nagato revived them.

Nameless mooks were expected if they believed she was trying to set a trap. While she hadn't exactly mentioned that she would be here for this meeting, the idea that these other ninja were tasked with infiltrating the Rain and assassinating her was not a great stretch. Her presence here would simply expedite the mission, if it were such.

The copy ninja caught her eye, his silver hair matched the cloud-hung sky... and something about the way he was looking around without really seeming to perceive anything stood out. The man was an accomplished assassin, but he was the one closest to Naruto out of the group, and she hoped that would be enough as she sent the crane his way. She shifted the paper shell around her clothes after sliding down the far edge of the rooftop. Madara perverted the image of the Akatsuki Yahiko envisioned, and it pained her to yield the image of the cloak... but it was best to keep her features fleeting for the time.

* * *

[music: Two Steps From Hell - "Dragonland" - **v=lzU26jUnE7k** ]

The sensation had become all too familiar. She was the other girl once again, if she was ever anyone different to begin with. She stood upon the shore of a land where water swirled in the timeless cycle of change, the shadow of a massive tree streaked from the center of the island.

"The shamans have kept the tree for countless generations." A lean member of the warrior caste folded his arms. "They will test you in the means they see appropriate."

"I understand." She spoke softly. "How long will this take?"

"Until you pass." He leaned against a metal … shuttle … a word for something that carried people.

"How long does it usually take?" A slight tinge of inadequacy threatened at the edge of her mind.

"As long as it takes." The man shrugged. "The process is for you and for you alone."

As delightfully cryptic as any of her family's sayings. "Very well." Wind blew dancing strands of hair around her face as she made strides toward the tree line.

A figure with blazing red hair emerged from the tree line. "Star woman?" His heavy brow barely contained the piercing eyes in front of the ancient tongue he used.

"I- I am." Her voice felt lost in the void of the ocean beyond.

"Child of the Stars," he began, her mind distracted by the novelty of his archaic dialect "Daughter of the Divine, place yourself in respect to the Dragon of the Earth!" The choice of words was not random, but she couldn't place the meaning before energy swirled thick and heavy from the very air around them.

"This..." She gasped. Manipulation of the Casimir-Dirak Anomaly was a rare trait even among her people. But the way he was doing it... She opened her eyes to the Tides of the Void, the world shifted into the view she knew her current self to understand as the Byakugan. The man before her pulled the energy from the world around him. It was the same concept as the tree placed upon this planet eons ago.

"If you cannot contend with the power of the Earth, then you cannot match the depth of the Stars." The power he drew swelled further, visibly taking the form of a roaring dragon.

A contest of strength? Not exactly what she had focused on, but she could manipulate the Anomaly, as well. "Very well." If she died, at least it would get this whole thing over with. The martial arts of her people focused on precise applications of the Anomaly's energy to disrupt the flow of things. Powerful as her opponent was, there were certain things that she could control that he could not.

* * *

Hiashi sighed against the chatter of crickets in the night. "Elder Hoshi, it pains me to see the Hyuuga in the state we are, now."

"Hmm..." The elder looked up to the moon, the lit sliver concave against the timely shadow. "The moon is a stern reminder of man's place in the world." His gaze remained distant, and Hiashi settled to gaze upon the same moon. "No matter how much the moon tries to be the Sun, even at its peak of illumination, it is merely a reflection of true light. The shadow of reality, of Earth, regularly eclipses the moon's greatest ambitions of becoming the Sun." Hoshi broke to return the gaze to Hiashi.

"Which one is the Moon, and which one is the Earth?" The younger Hyuuga reclined.

"Well, if that were obvious, then there wouldn't be a disagreement, now would there?" Hoshi chuckled in a rare drop of the facade. "However, between you and I... many of the elders are restless in their old age. They see their time as limited and destiny in turmoil. Some of the younger generations are swaying in their favor."

Hiashi allowed himself to down a cup of sake. "What a mess I have created for my daughters and nephew."

"Nonsense." Hoshi laughed. "You can see as well as I can that the Hyuuga were destined for whatever comes of this whole squabble. When you think that you can stop it... well... then you're that full moon up there." He motioned to the entity above, a large bite from a dragon's maw taken out of its light.

* * *

Author's Notes:

I believe I've broken moon phases in my story telling. While I'm sure everyone is sitting there with a calendar and marking down all of the mentioned time skips and comparing them to mentions of the lunar phases for factual accuracy... it's a detail that I feel a bit guilty for rendering an arbitrary plot convenience.

A note on my translation of "One Winged Angel" - I differ somewhat from the official translation. The official translation of the Latin uses a few of the most immediately available English words to develop the translation... which has a curious discontinuity in its meaning. I went back to the various meanings of the words in Latin and developed a more appropriate translation that fits the entire concept. Most key is the phrase "Ne me mori facias" - a phrase originally rendered as: "I do not want to die." However, the literal translation is thus: "No I to die we become" - 'Facias' is the plural of Faci- to make/render/build. It makes much more sense to render the phrase as an invitation to immortality, especially given the prior stanza of variations on "come." 'Vehementi' is from the root 'vehem' – which is used to describe living things (vehemous), yet is often within the concept of a sort of life-or-death struggle.

This fits within the general context of Final Fantasy VII, as well, where Sephiroth and Jenova stand as a monstrosity that resists the natural cycle of life and death as embodied by the Cetra and Life Stream. These are concepts that run deep in Japanese cultural perceptions that play off of both Buddhism and Taoism. Interestingly, similar philosophies can be found in the Judeo-Christian teachings – specifically with the goals of 'devils' and 'fallen angels' being concerned with defeating the world system as built by God. Contrary to typical dogma – the Devil is a being who is drunk with a short-sighted compassion. Something like death is perceived as an injustice, despite it being a natural part of the world. To a devil – the ends always justify the means. If a million people who fail to understand the injustice have to be killed to secure self-declared justice... then that's just the cost of justice. They can become a force of deception and injustice simply because they believe they have discovered a flaw in the order of the universe and need to rally all sentient beings to the effort to fix what is broken about God's universe.

The goal of the devil is to build heaven. The overlap with the concept of a "One Winged Angel" and the theme of Final Fantasy VII is quite poetic.

I won't delve into Judeo-Christian philosophies (at least... within the scripture... dogma has skewed us considerably toward an 'antichrist' alignment, I would argue) within the fiction. I just couldn't help myself with the idea of Zetsu performing Smooth McGroove renditions... and he just happened to do the most appropriate song to describe Madara. It just had to be done, because it seemed like something Zetsu would be perfectly cool with doing – just to see the look on Tobi's face.

Anyway – I thank you all for reading, once again, and hope you all enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought in that review button and I apologize for not being much on the shout-outs to reviewers.


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